BP Tows Metal Box to Leak Site

In an attempt to stop crude oil flow 5,000 feet below the surface, BP towed a four-story metal “containment box” out into the Gulf of Mexico Thursday. The box—constructed by crews working nonstop for a week—is designed to keep more oil from leaking into the water, not to plug the leak itself; it will help limit the leak by pumping some of the oil onto a tanker on the surface. It will be in place by Monday. “This is new technology,” a BP executive explained. “It has never been done before.” It’s estimated that 210,000 gallons of oil are gushing into the Gulf each day—if it works, the 98-ton box could stop 85 percent of that from entering the sea.