ACCESSION #: 9603120071                                                        
                       LICENSEE EVENT REPORT (LER)                             
                                                                               
FACILITY NAME: SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING              PAGE: 1 OF 3         
               STATION, UNITS 1, 2 AND 3                                       
                                                                               
DOCKET NUMBER:  05000206                                                       
                                                                               
TITLE:  DISCOVERY OF FOUR SLIGHTLY CONTAMINATED KITTENS AT SAN                 
        ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION                                      
                                                                               
EVENT DATE:  02/01/96   LER #:  96-001-00   REPORT DATE:  03/05/96             
                                                                               
OTHER FACILITIES INVOLVED:  SONGS UNIT 2            DOCKET NO:  05000361       
                            SONGS UNIT 3                        05000362       
                                                                               
OPERATING MODE:  0   POWER LEVEL:  000                                         
                                                                               
THIS REPORT IS SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR SECTION:       
Other: VOLUNTARY REPORT                                                        
                                                                               
LICENSEE CONTACT FOR THIS LER:                                                 
NAME:  R. W. Krieger, Vice President,       TELEPHONE:  (714) 368-6255         
       Nuclear Generation                                                      
                                                                               
COMPONENT FAILURE DESCRIPTION:                                                 
CAUSE:      SYSTEM:       COMPONENT:       MANUFACTURER:                       
REPORTABLE NPRDS:                                                              
                                                                               
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT EXPECTED:  NO                                              
                                                                               
ABSTRACT:                                                                      
                                                                               
On 2/1/96, four kittens were discovered in a small space between office        
buildings inside the Unit 1 Protected Area/Restricted Area but outside         
the radiologically controlled area.  As they were being taken out of the       
Protected Area/Restricted Area, contamination was detected on them by the      
exit portal monitors.  The kittens were surveyed and each measured about       
6000 counts per minute.  Health Physics workers gave each kitten a warm        
bath and shampoo, which lowered the levels to about 1000 counts per            
minute.  After the baths, Health Physics analyzed each kitten and found        
about one microcurie of activity, (primarily cesium 137, and small             
amounts of cesium 134 and cobalt 60).  While the quantity of radioactive       
material found on and in the kittens is far below Nuclear Regulatory           
Commission (NRC) reporting requirements, Edison is voluntarily providing       
this report.                                                                   
                                                                               
After the kittens were found, the remains of an adult cat on Interstate 5      
were sighted and recovered by a plant worker.  Subsequent analysis of the      
cat found similar levels of activity as in the kittens.  Based on the          
similarity of color between this adult cat and the kittens, the rarity of      
cats on-site, and the similar contamination in each case, Edison believes      
it likely the adult cat was the mother of the kittens.                         
                                                                               
The kittens remain under the care of plant workers.  A local veterinarian      
has described the kittens as very healthy.  There have been over 500           
requests from local residents, the general public, and plant workers who       
wish to adopt the kittens.  Because of the very low quantities of              
activity involved, this occurrence did not affect the health or safety of      
plant workers or the public.                                                   
                                                                               
END OF ABSTRACT                                                                
                                                                               
TEXT                                                          PAGE 2 OF 3      
                                                                               
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENTS:                                                     
                                                                               
Plant:              San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2,         
                    and 3                                                      
Reactor Vendor:     Combustion Engineering                                     
Discovery Date:     February 1, 1996                                           
Mode:               Unit 1, Safestor                                           
                    Units 2 and 3, About 99% Power                             
                                                                               
On February 1, 1996, four small black kittens were discovered in a small       
space between two Unit 1 administration buildings inside the Protected         
Area/Restricted Area but outside the radiologically controlled area.  As       
the kittens were being taken out of the Protected Area/Restricted Area,        
contamination was detected on them by the exit portal monitors in our          
security building.  Health Physics immediately responded and surveyed the      
kittens and the workers who handled them with a standard frisker.  The         
results showed that none of the workers were contaminated, but each            
kitten measured about 6000 counts per minute.  To reduce this activity,        
Health Physics workers gave each kitten a warm bath and shampoo, which         
lowered the levels to about 1000 counts per minute.                            
                                                                               
After the baths, Health Physics analyzed each kitten and found about one       
microcurie of activity, primarily cesium 137, and small amounts of cesium      
134 and cobalt 60.  Since the initial evaluation, measured activity has        
steadily decreased.  A local veterinarian, who has made several visits to      
the plant and provided the first recommended vaccinations, describes the       
kittens as very healthy.  Presently, their living quarters, which              
includes a pen, bed, and toys, is in a room within the Unit 2/3                
radiologically controlled area near the main entry station.  They remain       
in the care of plant workers.                                                  
                                                                               
The quantity of radioactive material found on and in the kittens is far        
below Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reporting requirements.              
Nevertheless, SCE has provided prompt and frequent updates to NRC              
resident and regional personnel and is voluntarily providing this              
Licensee Event Report.                                                         
                                                                               
During an effort to find the kittens' mother, we learned that an animal        
control officer had caught an adult cat on Edison property just outside        
the Protected Area/Restricted Area near Unit 1, one day before the             
kittens were found.  Because the cat was wet from a rainstorm and              
listless, the animal control officer took the cat home where it slept          
overnight in a cage in the officer's garage.  The next morning, the cat        
appeared healthy and alert.  Thus, consistent with our practice, the cat       
was released in a suitable area away from the plant.                           
                                                                               
After the kittens were found, workers at the plant tried, without              
success, to find the adult cat in the area where it had been released.         
Health Physics then contacted the animal control officer who handled the       
cat and surveyed him, his vehicle, and his home.  While no contamination       
was found in or on him or in his vehicle or home, trace levels of              
activity (a few nanocuries) were found on a rag he used to dry the cat,        
and in feces deposited in the cage.                                            
                                                                               
As the search continued, the remains of an adult cat on Interstate 5 were      
sighted and recovered by a plant worker.  Health Physics analyzed the cat      
and found similar levels of activity as in the kittens.  Based on the          
similarity of color between this adult cat and the kittens, the rarity of      
cats on-site, and the similar contamination in each case, Edison believes      
it likely the adult cat was the mother of the kittens.                         
                                                                               
In an effort to find out how the kittens became contaminated, Health           
Physics performed a comprehensive survey both inside and outside the           
radiologically controlled area.  While no contamination was found in           
either the area where the kittens were discovered or outside the               
radiologically controlled area, a few areas were identified inside Unit        
1's radiologically controlled area where a small animal (like a cat)           
could gain access and become contaminated.  These areas meet all the           
regulatory requirements for access control and precautionary procedures        
to restrict                                                                    
                                                                               
TEXT                                                          PAGE 3 OF 3      
                                                                               
worker access.  Nevertheless, to reduce the chance of a small animal           
entering these areas again, additional physical barriers will be               
installed, where practical.                                                    
                                                                               
The kittens remain under the care of plant workers.  There have been over      
500 requests from local residents, the general public, and plant workers       
who wish to adopt the kittens.  Because of the very low quantities of          
activity involved, this occurrence did not affect the health or safety of      
plant workers or the public.                                                   
                                                                               
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:                                                        
                                                                               
A search of the LER files yielded no similar event in the last three           
years.                                                                         
                                                                               
ATTACHMENT TO 9603120071                                      PAGE 1 OF 1      
                                                                               
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA                                   R.  W.  Krieger          
EDISON                                                Vice President           
                                                      Nuclear Generation       
An EDISON INTERNATIONAL Company                                                
                                                                               
                              March 5, 1996                                    
                                                                               
U. S.  Nuclear Regulatory Commission                                           
Attention:  Document Control Desk                                              
Washington, D.  C.  20555                                                      
                                                                               
Subject:  Docket Nos.  50-206, 50-361 and 50-362                               
          Voluntary Report                                                     
          Licensee Event Report No.  96-001                                    
          San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2 and 3              
                                                                               
This submittal provides a voluntary report describing the discovery of         
four slightly contaminated kittens at San Onofre.  Neither the health nor      
the safety of plant personnel or the public was affected by this               
occurrence.                                                                    
                                                                               
                                        Sincerely,                             
                                                                               
Enclosure: LER No.  96-001                                                     
                                                                               
cc:  L.  J.    Callan, Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV                   
     J.  E.    Dyer, Director, Division of Reactor Projects, NRC Region        
               IV                                                              
     K.  E.    Perkins, Jr., Director, Walnut Creek Field Office, NRC          
               Region IV                                                       
     J.  A.    Sloan, NRC Senior Resident Inspector, San Onofre Units 2 &      
               3                                                               
     L.  C.    Carson, NRC Project Manager, San Onofre, Unit 1                 
     M.  B.    Fields, NRC Project Manager, San Onofre Units 2 and 3           
     Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)                              
                                                                               
(Illegible)                                                                    
                                                                               
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