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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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' h* t# P6 G8 _, w7 s% SFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.6 ?3 w0 E' i# V8 W3 C
- n/ `" a! S* A7 e: ]Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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0 ^; \% M% w% B: d7 |+ l# GOne 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.* E8 y7 m* y9 o1 w9 y: a5 v* w
6 H3 q2 H, L% W$ R+ e* YThe fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.
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3 D' u5 T1 d- C. ]6 y' {+ A7 B"All employees have been accounted for and are in secure locations," CNRL said in a written statement.
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o* M) G F! U" t# Y$ B0 mReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.6 Z7 g1 P7 Q; f2 N
: S# u* a+ J# S- V- c2 E) bA witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."7 d c) `1 z. y* c
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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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8 X2 { _4 h$ Z# ^" KChris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."4 h. A& E- \" k: ?9 c
) e) r& s3 b, g) b [The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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( }+ o+ W$ v. kBy 7 p.m., the fuel source of the fire had been isolated and the fire was contained to the coker area./ C% a& t. }' @
# k4 A: F7 |' ]2 ?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., ?: k( W& g9 f
6 M5 V6 F$ o$ n. Z) j! A8 g: Y"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.
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; E1 W7 }) K) W0 J! w; o" IHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.
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/ n J6 U& u' m. Y: U/ b' FIt 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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6 o3 U- @% ]6 n% e8 m% r; lThe company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.- g/ k1 f7 [( W' k O& ^
$ E+ N# g8 V5 r2 R- \" R. UCanadian 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.# T; X4 w' b" G( Z% I. u$ h- e
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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.) s3 ~/ T4 c$ Q
; Y2 Q$ m& a @" BHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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