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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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$ ]! b8 Z7 G$ L/ P- ]7 tFour people were injured in a fire Thursday at the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.
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Three of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition./ @0 T/ n/ v9 }9 N9 Q# z- H
- V |9 b& q$ j5 lOne 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.3 a4 n2 A$ c! Y5 x0 r0 S, G
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.8 P; u/ M( U* V: Z6 E1 K# [0 a
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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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# T' f/ x$ R8 B; v: r& m# c. ]% bReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.. i7 I( o. k( N6 v% P
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."- `, b: d$ x6 c: v4 h
. P: e, j) k# o0 }& kAnd 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.* @; P0 l& b7 F& f; x0 ]
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.0 a9 b. S+ Y4 R: L. |3 J6 v0 I( N: X2 ?
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."& j( O; J- u# |( ?9 g
: N6 H: g" h% N$ Z! rThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.& i' R% l* c9 W- v. M
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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.! s8 ^- ~- x9 A! h3 W, |
$ N2 r, k! c0 L2 q* hAir quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday., S4 l- k# [# s$ Z/ ~
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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.3 g7 k/ Z9 n7 k6 v; {$ s' @
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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.- o, [2 Y5 l4 h
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.
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/ c. C& @- W* eHorizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.. ~! P* A1 G8 q$ j# j
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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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* r7 y, U- u0 |/ [A spokeswoman for Alberta's Employment and Immigration department said its officers were on their way to the site to conduct investigation.0 `" ?! ^# S- t) J
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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org., L* {" P7 N0 k0 ]
# G0 G. E- v% bCanadian 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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3 c& a" f/ S- }- nFires 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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4 w! ]% U( u; _" SHorizon was built during the oilsands rush of the last decade at a cost of $9.7 billion. |
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