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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    BP Attempts to Plug Well: Endless Oil, Endless Blame

    BP is preparing for " Top Kill ," using mud to plug the broken oil well, if it concludes that high pressure won't cause new leaks in a weakened system. The company puts the chance of success between 60 and 70%.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    BP is preparing for "Top Kill," using mud to plug the broken oil well, if it concludes that high pressure won't cause new leaks in a weakened system. The company puts the chance of success between 60 and 70%. Meantime, there's new evidence of warning signs before the explosion and more testimony that federal rules for deep sea drilling amounted to self-regulation. Pressure is building on the Obama Administration to take more decisive action, but there are doubts that it has the expertise or the technology. We get a progress report on "Top Kill," update investigative hearings and hear what's happening to the habitats of fish, birds and people.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Will 'Top Kill' Prevent a Disaster from Getting Worse?
    1. 0:00Retiring the Space Shuttle Atlantis
    2. 7:38BP Attempts to Plug Well: Endless Oil, Endless BlameYou’re reading this
    3. 47:05Obama to Send Additional National Guard Troops to the Border
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrea Brody

      Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Darrell Satzman

      Producer

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mark Schleifstein

      Times-Picayune

    • KCRW placeholder

      Satish Nagarajaiah

      Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Rice University

    • KCRW placeholder

      Anna Fifield

      US Political Correspondent, Financial Times

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Will 'Top Kill' Prevent a Disaster from Getting Worse?
    1. 0:00Retiring the Space Shuttle Atlantis
    2. 7:38BP Attempts to Plug Well: Endless Oil, Endless BlameYou’re reading this
    3. 47:05Obama to Send Additional National Guard Troops to the Border
    Back to To the Point