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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.5 u# B% N5 v; l" i6 L
9 |( C8 y4 i0 \. eThree 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.0 ?) h- D1 i+ k( D! c
3 U- p5 e1 W/ JThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.6 B! i1 J; `- l1 g# q
& [% Z' W! \7 N/ P"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.3 d' j- w: \: O1 Q3 `. Q
4 t7 V- P, v9 @4 o- h5 Y Z# j/ RReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.# F7 T; L7 S. A5 H' w$ p
( D- I1 b9 k Z3 a4 |2 y! uA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."
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! P! @. ]$ @9 j9 ^9 a. L( _# lAnd 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., ^) z8 B( Z( Y6 |# y. S E
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Alberta 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."
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4 H+ l5 O/ u/ U3 Q; |3 }8 q3 XThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.6 U- `$ q. B1 E p3 g
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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.& C: ~6 C1 T: ?7 C
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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8 v6 w5 v& z, Q" Q4 m0 yThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.' }% i5 v8 C( G: Z8 ^3 f, [
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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.
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.! f/ v9 k& p+ X; ^$ ]
+ O6 O) R# f$ \+ [Horizon 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.1 ^5 t' h Z; 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.( g/ `' D r# p: C
; ?& y0 A; N* s8 U5 ECanadian 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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9 s. d4 ?2 e+ {4 {6 _! P0 Z, I5 P% UFires 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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