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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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* t2 i- F6 c' A% E+ |3 Y& cThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.; W U0 v" P( [( e+ z9 f, e$ r
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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.2 v f5 @, U1 k f: t' u8 |
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.0 F, C4 m$ Z- j! H* {1 v" a1 n, B
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.' _) }9 b" I1 x2 t
% t; U3 N( Q5 |Reports 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." q- m: [% u3 x, i
3 a. ` e' H. Z W. I K8 xAnd 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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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."
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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+ @1 D# j+ R: t. s. Q# CBy 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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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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8 \: ]4 e& c* `* J"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 I9 K" A+ ]1 @) r$ m5 sThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.( M. g2 Q$ K9 B% l
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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.8 @+ F% A( Q8 d( ~, ~; p. i! g( N0 w
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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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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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; h! P- Y8 F0 l5 hCanadian 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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! L8 J* b+ Y1 {2 x- lFires 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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' q* q9 X. K, C0 y0 c) K/ F/ O& jHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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