and i think that admiral allen, secretary chu, marcia mcnutt which is running the usgs, the u.s. geological service are wise in making bp slow down so that we re very sure each step of the way that we don t turn this into an even more catastrophic event. see if the gulf coast judges agree with you. congre congressman ed markey, thanks for having you. a brief note to something we commented on last night. the free clinics will be holding a free clinic in new orleans. taking place on august 31st and september 1st. volunteers, medical and otherwise, and money very much in need for this free clinic. we should note that the clinic is to serve those who have no health insurance, a problem of particular urgency in that gulf area right now. you can donate money, register as a patient, register as a volunteer at freeclinics.u.s. and we thank you. the latest republican defensive tactics for the rich no evidence, says mitch
condition of the wellbore and the casing pipe since the event occurred. as we ve gotten closer to having the potential to close in and do pressure readings on the capping stacked, we have had numerous discussions about what the current status is of the wellbore and the casings and the implications if they had been damaged or if there was any communication outside the wellbore that might bring oil or hydrocarbons potentially to the subsea floor. but admiral allen adding tonight that a seismic survey showed the wellbore, which lies beneath the sea floor, was free of leaks, at least for the moment. also on the sea floor, two relief wells closing in on the blowout well. one of them only 37 feet away. the concern there, that the blowout preventers on the two relief wells are no better than the blowout preventer that, well, failed to prevent the blowout. and arguing for a moratorium, the interior secretary, ken salazar, acknowledging a concern about blowout preventers that countdown firs
received from bp tonight agreed to allow so-called integrity testing to begin, to see if the blown out well can handle the high pressures of shutting down the flow of oil within it. crude still gushing into the gulf at this hour. admiral allen saying in tonight s briefing that the government gave its permission for testing to begin after a 24-hour delay, satisfied that bp s latest scheme does not raise undue risks that outweigh the potential reward. testing to be conducted in stages. bp to slowly close each of the five outlets on the cap at six-hour intervals, stopping to monitor the results through seismic testing and with remote vehicles. if all goes as planned, the testing to end after 48 hours to evaluate the results then. the risk of sealing the leak, even temporarily, that it could force the creation of other leaks further down the line. federal officials having been concerned that oil and gas could end up escaping through cracks in the wellbore. we have never been sanguine or
and i think that admiral allen, secretary chu, marcia mcnutt who is running the usgs, united states geological service, are wise in making bp slow down so that we re very sure each step of the way that we don t turn this into an even more catastrophic event. see if the gulf coast judges agree with you. congressman ed markey, democrat of massachusetts, as always, great thanks, sir. thank you. thank you for having me. a brief note to something we announced last night. the free clinics will be holding a free clinic in new orleans. taking place on august 31st and september 1st. volunteers, medical and otherwise, and money very much in need for this free clinic. we should note that the clinic is to serve those who have no health insurance, a problem of particular urgency in that gulf area right now. you can donate money, register as a patient, register as a volunteer at freeclinics.us. and we thank you. the latest republican defensive tactics for the rich no evidence, says mitch
talking to the engineers on the boat giving the commands, seeing in real time what they are looking at. we re not really allowed to talk to these gentlemen because they re so involved in what they re doing right to you. allen is careful not to be too optimistic about this new cap. simply too much has gone wrong before. at this point we d be anticipated i d be refired and my wife and i were planning a trip to ireland but that happens whether it happens. we owe our best to the country right now. reporter: as gut-wrenching as this operation is, admiral allen and bp officials make clear it will be the attachment of the relief wells to that leaking well that will be the make or break of this entire operation. we won t know how that goes until early july or august until it actually gets to that leaky well. this morning as far as the well integrity test, we ll have more news in less than an hour when we get a technical briefing from bp officials. brian, i know you ll break it when you h