Originally Posted by
orionsbelt
Any body still around from V Force days. What was the radiation risk to ground crew from being in proximity to the Yellow Sun Mk 1 / 2 nuclear bombs with either ''Green Grass" or "Red Snow" warheads used on QRA - Victor B1 /1a Aircraft in the early 1960s? In 1963/4, I was ground crew on the Cottesmore QRA ( weekend Fri - Mon and mid week Mon - Fri ). On several occasions I was carrying out daily servicing while the Armorers had the Bomb Bays doors open for servicing the weapon. Scary view for an 18 year old ARM.
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Offhand the risk should have been minimal. The radioactivity from the ingredients is mostly alpha and beta particles, which are confined by the bomb package.
Note that the late Joe Stalin, when given a lump of plutonium which was a bomb core, was immediately suspicious as there was nothing obviously nuclear happening to that lump.
Fortunately the physicist who brought out the specimen was sufficiently unintimidated that he told the dictator 'feel it, it is warm', courtesy of ongoing radioactive decay.