By Eileen Fleming
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wwno/local-wwno-902240.mp3
New Orleans, La. – BP is estimating that 5,000 barrels a day are spilling into the Gulf a mile under the surface. But some scientists who studied moving images of the leak say the flow is more likely 70,000 barrels. The insertion system now in place hooked up after an aborted attempt over the weekend, when underwater robots sending up pictures to guide the pipes crashed into each other. The oil is now being siphoned off and sent up a mile-long pipe to a surface vessel. BP executive Doug Suttles acknowledges not all the oil spilling is being recovered, and other fixes are still under review. Meantime, researchers are checking if the millions of gallons spilled so far have hit a loop current that could pull the crude past the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.