BP Prepares to Test New Cap Installed on Leak

Behind protecting a new, tight-fitting cap on top of the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP equipped Tuesday to begin tests to see if it will hold and stop fresh oil from polluting the waters for the first time in nearly three months.

The oil giant is expecting to know within 48 hours if the new cap, which landed Monday after almost three days of thorough, around-the-clock work a mile below the Gulf's surface, can stanch the flow. The answer is only temporary, but it offers the best hope yet for cutting off the gush of catch the wind brown oil.

The limits setting up was good news to weary Gulf Coast inhabitants who have warily waited for BP to make good on it’s swear to clean up the mess. Still, they advised 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, attractive shots at us, for the next year, maybe two," Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's oil-stained Plaquemines Parish, said Monday. "If you told me today no more oil was coming ashore, we've still got a massive cleanup ahead."

Preliminary Tuesday, the cap will be tested and checked to see if it can withstand force from the gushing oil and gas. The examinations could last anywhere between six to 48 hours, according to National Incident Commander Thad Allen.

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