Napolitano sounds hopeful oil-leak note on visit to coast, but BP says she got the wrong info

Napolitano’s oil-leak optimism based on bad info?

MOBILE, Ala. — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says there’s cause for hope that the Gulf oil spill is slowing down, but she might be basing that on bad information.

The Obama administration cabinet member was on the Alabama coast Tuesday and said tests indicated less oil and more natural gas was coming out of the broken well. She called that good news even though she admitted it hadn’t been verified.

Turns out it might not be accurate. A BP official told the AP late Tuesday that there has always been a mixture of gas and oil coming up since a crippled oil rig sank last month.

Company spokesman Mark Proegler said scientists haven’t noticed any significant change in the leak.