Is the Containment Cap Working?

The Associated Press reports that while BP officials are confident that the new containment cap will capture most of the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, the leak will continue into the fall.

A device that's now sucking up significant amounts of the oil spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico offered a measure of optimism Sunday even as the government's point man on the spill warned problems would persist for months.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the spill, which is ravaging beaches and wildlife, will not be contained until the leak is fully plugged and that even afterward "there will be oil out there for months to come."

The disaster, which began with an oil rig explosion in mid-April, will persist "well into the fall," Allen said.

A containment cap placed on the gusher near the sea floor trapped about 441,000 gallons of oil Saturday, BP spokesman Mark Proegler said, up from around 250,000 gallons of oil Friday. It's not clear how much is still escaping; an estimated 500,000 to 1 million gallons of crude is believed to be leaking daily.

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