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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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7 \& C5 Z( U/ H$ g1 J+ D* uOne 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. |8 H" k4 u* p0 p3 B
) U) k( {! L7 A& {, MThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.0 L' ]2 [, N" K. _. V+ J
% L" p f( p# F! q+ u' t"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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) J1 n: s j7 ~8 B' ~# xReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."& u+ W$ p8 d* n. r) ?# }
/ B+ b' z1 j0 r2 {6 t, WAnd 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.! \" A; i4 `- S$ ]) q, m4 ?3 }
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident., \ [0 F/ ?$ k" `7 c v' e- t) m
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Chris 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.6 I1 Y; |* N7 j! }. `+ D I. T
: ~( q% n, \' q6 b1 J7 bBy 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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- t+ P- {4 n% i: H/ F! J" WAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.: G# A9 E0 u0 }. [' [% v# [; s
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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.- T. j* X9 U, R6 Z5 F: L
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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.* [! m+ O$ ]: |; N* C
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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.. G) \) n7 m8 \% ^9 w
, X1 C9 ?! ~5 ?! s" [# Y/ XA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.$ u( L' T0 c. r; b
" F; L0 Z6 f: u, D3 CThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org." K+ ~, |5 Q% g/ F
6 p; p" I: ^( F9 V0 s7 ]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.: z9 w% N) \4 d8 b1 r
! x/ a) A5 q6 j# hFires 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.- w3 B/ a0 `4 d, U q
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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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