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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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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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: \( `/ s: |( Q p" a9 N& @One worker was being treated for second and third-degree burns, the most serious types. A second suffered first-degree burns, and a third person had a neck injury.
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: @1 a2 P3 ?6 r5 t" i" _( \; b- aThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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* S1 x. q/ N1 `! S# _# q"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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+ |- F( a# k: wReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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7 F5 Q. d# i+ T5 [0 _+ b- D5 eA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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And a man whose wife works at the plant was concerned for her safety. "It is a ball of fire," said the man, who would not be named.
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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' B% B2 W* W8 Y M) ^0 H1 a/ f3 @Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."' f; W4 i4 O* @# W8 p" t
. H3 ~# j7 S7 M8 F' gThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down., G4 ^. r8 K \) U% c0 X9 f
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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.
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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.
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0 g# L; P9 P$ v4 c, P) G"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., I' |8 Y8 z% `2 \( i7 V( v2 t
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.% o; A5 h, d& ?
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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.5 A4 m6 E8 r! k5 c" T& S# y
: W3 i+ b7 J6 g3 l4 F. B5 `The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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: O2 t" C2 n* \$ M; K, |! Y! iCanadian 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.5 {6 U/ \: M% ?$ r
( m2 F' W" I! u, W5 [' C3 LFires 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.- o9 f' y0 P* H ~; r! ]2 \
# W8 U* S0 _7 w9 [+ vHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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