By Eileen Fleming
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wwno/local-wwno-901033.mp3
New Orleans, La. – BP is calling the smaller dome a "top hat." It's 4-feet-by-five-feet and weighs a fraction of the first four-story unit now off to the side. BP executive Doug Suttles says the smaller unit should be easier to install a mile below the surface. He says it will be equipped to prevent the icy slush that lifted the giant dome off the ocean floor. He says BP will also try plugging the leak with debris - called a junk shot.
"Depending on what happens with the top hat it's quite likely that we could do the junk shot either way if the conditions look right. Because the top hat just captures the flow where the junk shot would stop the flow."
He says the smaller cap should be in place by the end of the week, and the junk shot will be tried late next week. More than 210,000 gallons of oil continue to spill into the gulf every day.
For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.