Scientists challenge BP containment claims

[spanone]

Some scientists are taking issue with BP'sstatement that a containment cap placed over a gushing well could be capturing "the vast majority" of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

They suggest it's misleading, if not irresponsible, to make such a statement when the company has acknowledged it doesn't know how much oil is flowing from the busted well, or how much the spill rate has increased since engineers cut a riser pipe so it could properly fit the containment cap.

"I don’t see that as being a credible claim," said Steve Wereley, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University and a member of the Flow Rate Technical Group, a national panel of scientists and engineers tasked with determining the spill size.

"What I would say to BP is, show the American public the before and after shots of the evidence on which they’re basing that claim," Wereley told msnbc.com on Tuesday.

"I do not know how BP can make that assertion when they don’t know how much oil is escaping. I would say that statement is their hope and aspiration," added Ira Leifer, a researcher in the Marine Science Institute at the University of California Santa Barbara who is also a member of the flow-rate panel.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37573643/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/

[skeptical cynic]

1. I don't understand.

Why would BP lie about something this important?

[Junkdrawer]

2. $4,300 / barrel fine n/t

[skeptical cynic]

3. It was sarcasm

My dry sense of humor gets me into trouble a lot.

[Jamastiene]

4. BP lies about EVERYTHING.

Know how you can tell a BP exec is lying? Their lips are moving.

[spanone]

5. m.o.n.e.y.

[PufPuf23]

6. Why doesn't the Flow Rate Tech Group have access for independent measurements?

and all of BPs data. They should have reps over the shoulder monitoring and suggesting for date purposes actions by BP.

What is the use of paneling experts if they are not allowed to study?

This is not right.

[spanone]

7. i agree, we need verification....bp is NOT a reliable source