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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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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.6 \* V7 B& s/ s5 r- u9 ]) A
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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4 N- ~. o* U2 }5 H, F/ U$ N1 I, G. w( JOne 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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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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& o0 w+ [! x1 _"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.& Z) }8 {6 i% f( R
5 i: S$ ]3 v4 [: K2 d$ T5 ?( q z+ C6 qReports 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."
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' P7 s- y. O+ p4 z' l R" iAnd 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.& a- b$ P" c7 H6 B& v
' p W, j3 c- ]Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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7 L2 j* {( B- O/ }. @6 r, }; Y' uThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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. S* L/ J7 ~5 p$ ^! tBy 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.+ W! o0 [4 W, w/ ^% m V6 V( P
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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.- m& m2 |' e4 Q4 P7 F, n4 [ j
4 j$ V# k! D* R5 e8 Y# WThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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) D# X/ \' n- E0 Q P0 V2 FHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.6 [0 V# `2 `: p& n( n" `' w
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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." u5 z5 e' E7 x" J% Z8 m
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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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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.( P a' V# E0 b; x# [1 a
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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.
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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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