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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.. B+ T4 j) \( X
& j( \8 o2 s1 Z% ~3 lThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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# ]8 T4 {6 b; H& B/ ZOne 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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/ x3 {: Q$ A. B" n) s/ b7 kThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.6 b+ t' F: l. H+ G& ~$ j; ^
& \8 y3 l3 H! V( s& Q+ x. ?) {: M"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.; A- d) ~4 b" b* j' D2 x
( O' S( ^5 E' \4 |2 U# u$ LReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.* T& k4 o8 t5 k& n$ Y/ B1 a. O
3 A2 |2 O% E8 ^A 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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! [( O$ j' X& `$ E+ AAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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) _% [+ P1 u2 Q; n1 ?( u! KChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."0 }. e* s3 `4 ` Z; O- `2 p; ?
, N" [6 m( v* ~. j1 hThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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! h' B5 [/ x' c& KBy 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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4 j# ^7 r/ K6 D2 N9 q, y4 k9 c" eThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.( |. ? \ @( m1 T" }4 _+ x2 D4 G2 [
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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.8 B0 O+ m, T- s
7 S5 A5 ^! Y4 G, l# uThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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$ A0 l6 J5 @( s7 s2 o4 ^! Z3 ~Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.( u4 o# s. x. ?4 i
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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.
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! Z5 A, C3 M7 E4 f( yThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.7 b5 F$ q4 o" S* ?. H! D
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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.6 y, @/ `: y- M$ {' j( B8 h" B
2 a$ V& x8 _7 t. J& B6 sFires 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.1 }* X# x0 D/ C" f
+ s8 ?2 a6 [# U; ?" q0 a# z" HHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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