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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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$ {) j1 T3 `3 i% [3 fFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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9 n; W* t5 f8 z' W& V% WThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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6 F6 t+ ^/ w+ k! D! uOne 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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8 ?8 Q8 l7 x2 Z# E. q"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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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."3 a8 h9 {6 \1 ^, G
+ O) e( Y M: G o$ BAnd 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. Y7 Q/ r5 ?9 V1 h( v. G
+ q8 I' l; ^" p" oAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.. \4 B2 P9 G1 _/ I5 n) W7 q
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."8 ~3 P/ h8 x. \% f0 _7 P
2 t7 `7 E' v n1 k2 dThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.5 w# N- Y7 H2 V B( ?% `4 ?3 t
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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.
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9 k$ J1 B$ b# t1 N/ }( z# SAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.& ^9 k$ R1 }- o; I4 Q, |
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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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5 t7 j+ [: l0 I% j* F, S"Canadian Natural's first priority is the well-being of our personnel and to safely control the situation," said CNRL in a statement.( ^6 \) F5 l8 F7 r! y3 p
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.. S) e# y }- D0 J8 I6 g
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.$ A/ ~& X i5 `
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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./ h5 b a, v2 T: Z# ]7 y/ H
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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.# I) u$ T C& e
9 N9 o) s/ F4 I- W. a4 ~9 lThe 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.6 k2 [& i2 Z6 b7 f( l
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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$ _& _+ @9 @! }! s
0 Q& q& d- o8 j3 O7 I0 GHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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