I was for a while in the Sixties part of a Civil Defence 'Scientific Intelligence Team', another part of the UK Warning and Monitoring Organisation.
Our job was to take the ROC information and any other available information and make best estimates of the intensity and extent of the damage and radiation zones, plus of course the resultant likely fallout plumes.
This was to help rescue and evacuation work etc. largely for the civilian services. For a keen youngster it was rather sobering - especially when thinking about what would have happened to those reporting, if the simulations had ever gone real.
The most interesting part was using (by memory) USAF data to estimate the likely impact on road and rail communications due to building, extensive forest or bridge damage, which would slow rescue.
The so-called War Emergency Dose for radiation was a very large dose expected to have fairly major effects, but supposedly not immediately fatal.
I recall one exercise which presumed that the Soviets had hit the Gareloch and the nuclear weapons store nearby. The possible size and extent of the resulting fallout plume worst case estimates was stunning.
On reflection, we were very lucky no-one ever used the beasts.
Last edited by biscuit74; 4th Feb 2016 at 21:00.