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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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7 t8 t3 _6 X0 l. IThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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3 @# u# y, A x5 P" P- U0 EOne 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.7 J$ O* F# K ]+ z: e: u" g
9 u' S( K. X* j( X6 v+ [The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.! a+ W" Z; _( e) n. |) b8 s) t
( d( k5 ~1 Y8 F7 P" }3 ~3 j$ q"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.0 y- G2 w( ]/ G: ~
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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5 x5 Q& J8 S- N0 lAnd 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.9 `8 v5 S: N3 k/ j( `) X0 P
- M0 `8 p, f& n4 U, g6 f b8 rAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.6 A, N! b0 _' @
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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$ ^8 p# B3 b/ a1 D) d& r% hThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.) O6 S! \+ `' V! F6 J
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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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; H1 g; Y+ l5 u+ @+ G5 fThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
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"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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3 }3 e3 z9 E0 y* A2 g$ VThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.8 N3 [* U, i. v7 F, K5 M2 D/ l7 c
$ ^. r5 h4 \4 Q! n) s% ZHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.7 J l( I$ T/ r: N
; y$ [- b3 M$ f& `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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9 E* }) z5 t6 ~! u7 P9 lA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.5 R' i/ k* ^# `7 J6 F
4 l: ^2 |" g GThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.$ a% g; P7 Q$ Q) {2 }9 J; G }0 h
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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." L2 s( | l! o2 ~5 Z
$ a# L# B0 g3 Z" {& s( t6 c* rFires 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.
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Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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