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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.& ?! S x" k v1 }0 f
" k5 `* e) D) e' @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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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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& D& ]2 a- |, n) O3 K7 o"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.( ~* u) r' c2 W. o3 [/ v
. }/ f' O9 I% [Reports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.
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8 ?$ J2 U9 k! lA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."' h; I9 L8 h7 i4 n, y
# Q1 r: Y* ~8 C( I5 N) 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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+ o* F7 Y, T' fAlberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."" L% `3 [6 O: G
! D$ n. K& I: ?) oThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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" x5 B+ \% U. d' r" h; OBy 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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% k( _; g r# v1 E6 y6 r$ `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.7 c* K7 G5 g: Y. W) {
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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.5 i6 I2 ^8 c- O4 ~# ~/ x1 {* T
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required." l. r, I u7 w* L! Y) _3 G
. q& S2 g) T2 HHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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; k' a! m' f* F5 cIt 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.0 Z* \9 U' v* p0 e( r
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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.1 `/ {8 D' t; c4 B* e8 r
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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.
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; d( a- T8 x5 Z: KFires 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.. @( b7 E$ l5 `1 j# g
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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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