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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./ G q* n& M7 F1 k" [9 I! n
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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.) n5 o$ W& E: y. B) u) r; A, e
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.% _" L, Z$ [: }3 z
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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."0 o& g+ _" o/ ~) d
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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.
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.
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) d+ T$ z6 G( T2 `( A) g$ IChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."7 Q; \0 C$ c7 q4 F: T% e6 w( B. S
' l* J2 ]) Q) P: mThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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@: A. A) q$ Q8 xBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.' K- s8 C! a; P( t( [5 b( ?2 \( n M
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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9 X5 J1 c: {+ C9 S5 J/ rThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.7 J F/ z- B" a' ~) Z
5 ~5 Z) e# i& G, j0 G"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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3 x* n2 z2 k2 F7 @0 O' D3 aThe 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.# D5 P3 l; S( b0 h: G
3 L7 n4 q9 i6 y1 q4 R; Q/ G TIt 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.8 Q5 b9 \ {( R/ O# a
- p0 H! t: ]" n* L7 U7 Z$ LA spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.' u0 Q. o3 h! }2 q: n9 h
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The 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.0 F) J& S9 Q; y" p* c
+ e( V# R b% Z z* R5 j4 xFires 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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