BP prepares to test new cap installed on oil leak ?

Having secured a new, tight-fitting cap on top of the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is preparing today to test whether it will hold and stop fresh oil from polluting the waters for the first time in nearly three months. The oil giant expects to know results from the tests within 48 hours; the tests themselves could last anywhere between six and 48 hours, according to National Incident Commander Thad Allen. The new cap landed Monday after almost three days of painstaking, around-the-clock work a mile below the Gulf’s surface. This solution to the oil leak is only temporary, but it offers the best hope yet for cutting off the gush of billowing brown oil. The cap’s installation was good news to weary Gulf Coast residents, who have warily waited for BP to make good on its promise to clean up the mess. Still, they warn that even if the oil is stopped, the consequences are far from over. “I think we’re going to see oil out in the Gulf of Mexico, roaming around, taking shots at us, for the next year, maybe two,” says Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana’s oil-stained Plaquemines Parish. “If you told me today no more oil was coming ashore, we’ve still got a massive cleanup ahead.”