Allen Says More Time Needed For Bottom Kill

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – National Incident Commander Thad Allen says he is still ordering mud and cement be pumped into the bottom of the well, as it has from the top. But he says extensive testing and analysis are still needed to make sure the bottom kill doesn't blast open the material that's keeping oil inside the reservoir.

"As we get to the end we are very close to putting this well away. I think none of us want to make a mistake at this point and I have no problem as the National Incident Commander with an overabundance of caution."

Allen is ordering a new blow-out preventer be installed at the seafloor to replace the unit hooked up by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. He says drilling the remaining few feet on the relief well could resume after Labor Day.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.