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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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' m! f' Q* _6 r; M9 n7 ~2 FFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.# O" Z. u; m$ P0 ?( `
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.$ V& h5 F7 a: c S' `$ 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.! T( I! |9 p5 D
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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! a; [# C3 |. x2 s9 X; t"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.8 ?+ L: c3 i& ]7 @' j# @' ]8 h
3 X/ w* |, v2 V" W% ~' HReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.- ~! W) }8 g. n6 s3 v
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."% L$ H) F1 r" D8 V. C% [. [2 [$ `
1 S' e& D1 m% kAnd 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.. ^, C& a% V$ ^1 F8 Q
% @: L" n6 h: ?0 E! R: P& ~Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.0 W( i" g- ^- [; l' ~
4 D& D* [# Y4 bChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."( M" p6 t( M6 U+ W9 x" {
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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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By 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area. O1 Z" T0 c4 z3 F. B' z
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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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) o/ V) ?9 r8 w) Z"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 ` {, i! E9 i4 d9 ^4 nThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required." V3 I' N: s+ U4 V7 s
# z# O% ?3 x, { J# l6 j$ w. CHorizon 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./ V$ b; A9 l/ e4 a9 z- D9 n
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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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+ y4 w! c: h- ]: I! N( `, v; B: `The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.$ o0 h& V+ A7 k( q: Q" q
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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.7 i$ M5 D6 z& m/ g# m
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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./ v" K) u) q# O4 A; h
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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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