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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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8 a0 z" E7 i" X; w- R. D5 D, W) o. sFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.. Z# _$ ?; M$ h% P) O) s
: `: P0 b; ^1 ~: I7 j5 TThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.$ }* d7 Q* w: l4 C4 N& s) J$ E
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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.
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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.
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8 S& Y" _9 B6 n9 u" G) V: N7 hReports 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."
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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.0 y2 f) K4 s- j' M
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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# Z! k; h! ]( x( F, E# W, `7 VBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area.: ~# S9 E8 _: m* l1 A
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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.
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" U! X6 f0 Z6 a% cThe Calgary-based company said oil production has been suspended and there is no word as to when it will resume.* ~6 B i4 {: v9 [, Q4 m* Y4 k
" V: M Z$ W. S: F"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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0 [" `; O, G, G% eThe upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.7 C3 A( ~* H$ J, I
5 c7 a/ k5 ~$ C7 e F/ |Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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c, K: @( w" u3 \2 rIt 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.' O8 w' \! s0 S1 f" t
; s3 Z3 d3 z _. ]A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.9 f9 a2 g9 v5 E2 w. y) z
' m; ^- ^" c1 G# a- eThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.: V0 h0 q& f# y3 v( _
: |# I! K1 o5 ~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.; W. G* m$ u8 k: T' E) N6 B6 a
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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./ h& N! o2 Q1 G( x; t. U
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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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