BP CHIEF DEFENDS SAFETY RECORD AS OIL SLICK SPREADS.

(From The Journal)

BP's chairman defended his company's safety record last night and said "a failed piece of equipment" was to blame for a massive oil spill along the Gulf Coast of America.

Lamar McKay told ABC's This Week that he could not say when the well a mile beneath the sea might be plugged. But he believed a dome that could be placed over the well is expected to be deployed in six to eight days.

He said BP officials were still working to activate a "blow-out preventer" mechanism meant to seal off the geyser of oil. "And as you can imagine, this is like doing open-heart surgery at 5,000ft, in the dark with robot-controlled submarines," he said.