BP oil well near death, but disaster is not over

Associated Press

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO

The impending death of BP’s blown-out oil well will bring one piece of the catastrophe that began five months ago to an anticlimactic end — after all, the gusher was capped in July.

This, though, is an important milestone for the still-weary residents of the Gulf Coast: an assurance that not so much as a trickle of oil will ever seep from the well that already has ruined so much since the disaster first started April 20.

Crews already had pumped in cement to seal the well from the bottom, and officials said Saturday it had set. Once a pressure-and-weight test was finished, officials expected to confirm that the well is permanently plugged.

People who rely on the Gulf of Mexico and its coastline for their livelihoods, though, know the disaster is far from over. They are left to rebuild the businesses destroyed by shorelines and fishing grounds tainted by crude. Even where the seafood is safe, fishermen struggle to sell it to consumers fearful that it’s toxic.

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