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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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5 y" ]( n3 [$ @Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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/ D8 n6 z2 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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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.$ j2 a1 E) W* M; @* }
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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4 {" e) P% h. m4 z! @6 kReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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3 Y+ L* Z3 o+ q5 N- @/ A' E; @A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."" |# O" B6 Y: X* X
" O! B D/ A, ~+ BAnd 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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" A" F+ t- L& GAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.5 o2 r8 n. o, m6 [' j% S
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage.") x0 k4 H; {0 k
" c& }3 F: w$ O8 c2 z- wThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down." `- D* L7 R8 X- }
$ B S0 f" X; B7 K# WBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.# Q3 q6 G4 i& \5 d$ n$ U
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.1 O0 e7 Y; L: b( H' I
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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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"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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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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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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% W; [6 N8 w1 E0 ^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.! p0 ?) C" h1 g. p, f
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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.6 a; }3 W9 I# I4 ]8 y; F
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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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