Director James Cameron called on to help with Gulf oil leak crisis
Director James Cameron called on to help with Gulf oil leak crisis
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| Water hero:u00a0 Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filming. Pic/Getty images |
The Avatar and Titanic director was among a group of scientists and other experts who met with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak.
The Canadian-born Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. Avatar and Titanic are the two highest-grossing films of all time.
24 hours to stop
British Petroleum (BP), meanwhile, hopes to place a cap on a fractured oil pipe and contain the Gulf of Mexico spill within the next 24 hours, a top company official said.
"If everything goes well, within the next 24 hours, we could have this contained," BP's chief operating officer Doug Suttles said.
The operation -- dubbed a lower marine riser pipe -- to cut off the leaking pipe and seal it was launched yesterday, earlier than the timetable set at the weekend by BP after an earlier bid to stop the leak failed. "We are making progress, we are going to cut the riser today," Suttles said, adding the next step would be to fit the cap on the well.
He was cautiously optimistic that this time the manoeuver might start stemming an oil leak spilling from the collapsed Deepwater Horizon rig since an explosion on April 20.
He cautioned however that given that the operation was taking place one mile (1.6 km) down on the seabed "we can't guarantee success."
US Coast Guard commander Thad Allen, who is in charge of the government's response to the worst US spill in history, gave a longer timeline however, warning it may be three more days before the cap is put in place.
| BP FACES FBI PROBE |
| US Attorney General Eric Holder said that federal authorities have opened criminal and civil investigations into the nation's worst oil spill, and BP lost billions in market value when shares dropped in the first trading day since the company failed yet again to plug the gusher |
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