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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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q8 O1 V0 q% J% d& A% E, g- L2 MFour 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.! d8 l) K$ `* Q k( P
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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.# k) [* i% W+ [ N( H) e
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.3 Y+ j' Z7 `8 A' F& \
! V( l& [! U e5 V+ l" ]4 k! f"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.9 ]/ Y; G: K5 H- L
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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., ~$ `+ Z3 g. Z3 F8 w
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."& R( g6 F+ B5 x; A
. o% `% T1 D" q5 UThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.! u2 m" n! @& Z( r9 \
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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.5 R* r" G( r2 E
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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 E4 c; H( I, y) a" LThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.
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* a4 }3 m! a9 H/ y- }1 m% I. B# M) ~"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.! |- n1 |8 ~+ V
- n! Y& g9 f5 B5 ?( DThe 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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A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.% Q% d) g8 N. `9 e6 ?/ q
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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1 J6 k k: N2 u$ vCanadian 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.. P8 r3 J9 F" M5 o$ b
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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., H. W; n4 W* I$ Q8 D
# }; ]7 M7 n% Q1 n1 |2 m. ?2 `Horizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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