First attempt at using the dome has failed.
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Originally Posted by CNN
The effort to place a massive containment dome over a gushing underwater wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico was dealt a setback when a large volume of hydrates -- icelike crystals that form when gas combines with water -- accumulated inside the vessel, a BP official said Saturday.
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Suttles said the gas hydrates are lighter than water and, as a result, made the dome buoyant. The crystals also blocked the top of the dome, which would prevent oil from being funneled up to a drill ship.
"We did anticipate hydrates being a problem, but not this significant [of one]," he said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/08/gul...ex.html?hpt=T1