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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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; G7 T M; R# N1 z! [0 T. 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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% M* K- X* r5 HThree of the four injured were transported to hospital in Fort McMurray in stable condition.
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. n7 ]& c2 G1 s2 d4 M; eOne 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.$ ~, t9 g! G I+ z; F
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The fourth was treated on scene and was to be released.% w& M y/ C$ W* t( a6 R
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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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e: p* W$ z( m) @. [2 A; NReports to the Sun about an explosion at the plant started coming in around 3:30 p.m.1 @( \4 S1 R: g
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A witness who wished to remain anonymous described the scene as "scary."" O* w$ H2 a B: e
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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.8 f4 t: c* X. d4 S5 @+ U
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Alberta Environment was notified about the incident.0 R+ {# I! K3 h: @ q
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Chris Bourdeau, spokesman with Alberta Environment, said the department is "in the information-gathering stage."
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9 ^1 M& _8 t, a Q. } hThe fire was located in the upgrader, which converts bitumen into synthetic crude, and the plant was shut down.; h" n& U9 l' j1 ~; z) D
* R( P7 v8 j9 A0 E' k4 a6 UBy 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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Air quality has been reported as good in the area as of 6 p.m. Thursday., Y6 i1 I5 Y& ^
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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.
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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.
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The upgrader is located about 70 km north of Fort McMurray. No site evacuation was required.3 V' L* X V3 k% ]
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Horizon is the newest major mining operation in the oilsands.8 y. ]; T. {* ?" C. D) M
; k+ s! L! q% R% BIt 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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The company said air monitoring stations in the area are being checked, with updates available at www.wbea.org.
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" t* p/ B1 a( \( nCanadian 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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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.
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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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