The effort to contain the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues today with an attempt to place a four-story dome-like structure around the breached well. Engineers hope the dome will siphon off the hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil that have been spewing into the Gulf each day. The dome has never been used at such depths. BP executive Doug Suttles said the attempt is unprecedented.

Doug Suttles: “It will take about two days to put it on the sea floor. You can imagine, we’re landing a very, very large metal — essentially metal building onto the sea floor to capture the flow. And this has to be done very precisely at a depth of 5,000 feet, so it’s a very complex task.”

The oil spill could turn out to be the worst industrial environmental disaster in US history. As the oil slick continues to approach coastal areas, scientists are warning that globules of oil sticking to the bottom of the sea could threaten every part of the ocean food chain.