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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." z P7 i! R) G J
1 h7 [" p3 G; @7 k8 A I" LThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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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.) I( H9 m0 U# S' C* i
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.. k9 M8 ]$ b. [( l. F
; w- ^' }" C, L! w# \Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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7 o. @* {0 p3 ?5 ]- GA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."& V; q, p h% N1 F9 a/ {
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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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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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7 G3 T+ T$ K8 _5 JChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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1 W+ A$ |5 u J5 ~The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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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.$ F# `* Y- Z5 @" d& v
2 z, D. ]4 u* G8 J, u. W1 z% R5 [Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.; m+ j7 }8 k/ ]( A! t# Y8 e
0 u |3 d% f' P* q: n7 v* |The Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.( z# g& o$ w Q
Q& v8 a) f# Q# Y( h"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.; C* Y% Z* A% A, S7 k4 p0 m0 Q
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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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& f; q0 i" s! D/ }4 JIt 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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* x; g, F1 j& H$ p1 P% [. lA 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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8 M5 L- g# d0 j# d0 yCanadian 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.5 Z ^5 `& V( k" i! j# N' b2 j) D
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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. l A& X* J4 G9 u) U" O4 `/ I
. S' r5 l) F4 C- sHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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