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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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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.$ f7 m6 u7 y/ n6 U ]
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.- m7 v1 z1 g# Z4 U) e: K* f# u# y
6 P8 C7 ~7 \7 L" y7 fOne 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.; ?; g+ k+ P' b0 H4 O' M( e
6 @ R1 u, ]0 e$ `$ `' b"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.9 a4 b9 y0 y: I% X1 F$ L3 D Z
& n2 s e. L+ K/ r4 j! CReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m." j t. C7 H8 z
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."" ? o+ w( n$ r5 j; E" d, V' r9 r
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And 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.+ w; K& Q4 h" E! {, S, n
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.7 M7 a- L& U X( e! m* S
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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; j/ a# Z9 G2 Z3 O# TThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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% \$ I, z; z# C+ o, ^- LBy 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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8 i, F; z( h& mAir 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.8 o+ y& g7 J3 V8 ^: B
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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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8 h& F/ @6 h( n7 T9 s% o# K+ eThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.; F- C- u7 j' I. [2 G: Z
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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.
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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.8 @: q1 c& H) A r6 _' v
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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.+ q' I8 D* F3 r( _ _ {
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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.* C. {$ c$ L" F, k+ f H) K
. G9 W: s8 [, M: O8 HHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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