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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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Three 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.
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0 }* c2 O0 \ N+ M2 C& e O* cThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.6 F8 {+ h5 L$ n! B: J8 h' Q, n
- I+ H6 H9 r; b# T"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.& G- U5 q, C6 r% | _* v
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Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.2 D6 ~- o7 I2 i3 G+ ^: Q
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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& ^1 P7 Z4 n# O" o1 SAnd 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.( [) ]4 `" B# U: c
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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5 r0 T" g5 k1 X$ AThe 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." _/ Q" o! t7 A6 S/ k2 I
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.+ y+ a7 h2 a8 C- b/ j0 U* O
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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.- N# p+ S' d# l1 r
0 m/ a: M, M4 A1 n Z0 {0 Z% B"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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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.+ d7 u R! Y- O
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.& S& I1 Z6 I, Z. E% K, C
8 d1 n. P" g5 k2 KIt 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.* E4 n' X! _% T9 I* |- C6 W
0 P. L4 \: K% K: ?8 T0 YA 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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0 o7 J q! T2 ], U, |1 h1 c! iThe 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.' T8 X/ h# h$ E/ ?% g
+ Z7 n9 x7 c) ~0 ^0 n; q2 N+ TFires 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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% T% f4 N, ]" l4 s. y0 n; nHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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