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发表于 2011-1-16 13:02
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" O) G, V* w- K( w, C% s* \6 ~Four people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.; i* n& S! r! {& F, \+ s( @
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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.
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.) s! d; Z- s! t# _( K# b M6 S
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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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! L9 \: C' G( E& B1 tReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.% X- n. ]6 T$ J; U2 G: A
- k4 `& d' h0 N" i& g0 ~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.7 D- j! w. r' J) R* {3 M# r8 ^
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.; B! }0 \7 M/ E! ^4 o
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."+ e u. _. d& R2 O7 y
. K) B0 t0 R! k0 z9 {3 t2 ?The fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.
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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.
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1 D: {, p: [8 ^Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday.% T1 a* s+ [4 T0 e# l
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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.( W7 j" }3 s# B8 S" o/ j
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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.+ Q8 `7 V4 U; e9 Q
; c ~6 ]2 n2 m3 N J6 uThe 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.
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4 q; t9 a2 }/ L" wIt 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.: S/ l% A2 t: a7 U
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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.7 x' G# e2 o6 G: f3 I. c. [
8 l1 u: F: S6 ? v* d I1 ^9 o2 F7 O6 |The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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3 n& K; |9 v. l8 k4 DCanadian 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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( Y6 k/ r! G. x; ^. tFires 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.9 i# X. B9 f* s) I2 l' \
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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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