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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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2# 爱城四少
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Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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2 c. k/ B& d8 K5 U# g" ^Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.: R2 R1 W5 q) Q8 z6 T
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One worker was being treated for second and third-degree burns, the most serious types. A second suffered first-degree burns, and a third person had a neck injury.6 n( S- n- U: a- K4 i
5 u/ n4 }% s2 |The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.' `/ \! @1 V9 e3 q
. G) s2 Q, p( s"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.% j2 L0 T0 N m( _4 o
, v/ D" w# [+ Q: Q3 gA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."4 S: r* K. Z; o7 }" p" D. v
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And a man whose wife works at the plant was concerned for her safety. "It is a ball of fire," said the man, who would not be named.0 {' Q, v# N) l* ^ a
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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5 H# A$ s/ T; u) r. O' KChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.* y* @/ }6 a7 d" u9 ]6 J, [: R7 Y$ A
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By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.; f. x! j: A4 A; ~; G
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.! U+ {* c2 u% C+ |6 z: R* U* I- ^! U
6 ^. C- P9 n- r8 O# }- \"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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& `/ T+ q. W: E" ZHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands./ d) F% g, ^! G3 p4 |) H
$ r$ c1 j5 x& ]( x: {It is impossible to gauge the impact on the company -- or how the incident might affect multibillion-dollar expansion plans for Horizon -- until the extent of the damage is known, said Michael Dunn, an analyst with FirstEnergy Capital Corp.
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A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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Canadian Natural, Canada's No. 1 independent oil producer, said earlier Thursday that Horizon's output averaged 83,700 barrels per day in December, down 22% from November, as it shut down the upgrader's coker unit for repairs. The company said it had restarted the unit.
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Fires in the complex upgraders have been relatively frequent. Production at Suncor Energy Inc.'s oilsands project was hobbled when a fire broke out at one of its two upgraders in December 2009. A second unit was damaged in another blaze last February.' r( m! _) r8 F$ ^3 `/ h9 c8 p/ N
; m5 ~6 V# p: q) w2 Y- VHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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