Engineers have removed a temporary cap that stopped oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's blown-out well in mid-July.

More oil is not expected to leak into the sea, but crews are on standby with collection vessels just in case.

The cap was removed Thursday as a prelude to raising the massive piece of equipment underneath that failed to prevent the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The government wants to replace the failed blowout preventer first to deal with any pressure that is caused when a relief well BP has been drilling intersects the blown-out well.

Once that intersection occurs sometime after Labor Day, BP is expected to use mud and cement to plug the blown-out well for good from the bottom.

The April 20 rig explosion killed 11 workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from BP's well.

A prominent Birmingham law firm that Alabama Attorney General Troy King had tapped to sue BP PLC over the Gulf oil spill will not take part in the litigation because of a potential conflict.

A spokesman for King, Chris Bence, said Tuesday the law firm Balch Bingham would not represent the state in the lawsuit because the Mississippi offices of the firm previously represented Transocean Ltd., owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. An April 20 explosion on the rig killed 11 workers and left millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf Of Mexico.

Bence said the lawsuit against BP, seeking to recover lost tax revenues, would also name Transocean, well contractor Halliburton Co., and Cameron International, maker of the well's failed blowout preventer.

Bence said King spent much of Tuesday meeting with lawyers from various Alabama law firms discussing the lawsuit. He declined to say which firm or firms might be chosen to replace Balch Bingham as the lead attorneys.

A $10 billion toxic tort class action lawsuit has been filed against BP over alleged emissions from its troubled Texas City oil refinery, alleging that workers and residents in the area were exposed to benzene and other chemicals.  

More than 2,200 workers at the refinery and residents from the surrounding area filed the BP class action lawsuit on August 3 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. The complaint alleges that for 40 days earlier this year, the company illegally released the chemical benzene into the atmosphere.

The benzene lawsuit comes just as BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, was finally able to stop the flow of oil from a well a mile under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, which has caused a massive oil spill that is expected to cost the company tens of billions of dollars in oil spill lawsuits and clean up costs.

Plaintiffs in the BP Texas City refinery class action lawsuit say the company has been releasing benzene into the atmosphere at the plant due to a hydrogen compressor that broke down on April 6. The 2,212 plaintiffs allege that they suffered serious injuries and illnesses from benzene exposure.

Benzene is an industrial chemical that has been linked to the development of cancer, leukemia and other life-threatening health problems. It is a known carcinogen used as an industrial solvent in the production of plastic and synthetic rubber, as well as drugs and dyes.

BP’s Texas City Refinery is the third-largest oil refinery in the United States, and has been the subject of several major safety incidents. As recently as September, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration hit BP with an $87.4 million fine for not complying with a safety agreement made after a March 23, 2005 explosion and fire that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others.