How do you decontaminate a radioactive V bomber?

[BEagle]

The Victor SR2s involved in that role had relinquished the task to 27 Sqn Vulcan B2MRR aircraft by the mid-'70s.

In addition, the likelihood of significant contamination of the airframe from fission products had decreased significantly by then. Vented sub-surface test products resulting from containment failure were still possible, but that was about all. No atmospheric testing was conducted by any nation after 1980.

Nevertheless, as 'green' politics developed, the wash-down of even the tiniest level of nuclear contamination became an increasing political and logistical problem. Certain nations wouldn't accept the aircraft involved; others demanded that all decontamination wash-down had to be prevented from reaching the local drainage system and was to be collected and returned to the responsible nation....

[Dan Winterland]

Thinking about the practice I described, I relaise now that the topic may still be quite 'sensitive' - so posts deleted/edited. But I can assure those who questioned it, from a postition of authority, that it was going on.

Some of the SR2s were flying through the fallout from the French tests in the mid 70s which were very 'dirty'. These were some of the last atmospheric tests ever done, the last being by the Chinese in 1980.

[Blacksheep]

V Bombers flew at altitudes where radioactive dust - fallout from atmospheric testing - was widely dispersed around the planet. The aircraft were rarely washed and the aircraft exteriors were shabby. Most ground staff working in the hangars had a weekly change of denims. Those of us who worked out on the line habitually wore our parkas and they were never washed and, in addition, they were passed along as " pre-owned" cold weather gear when posted in and out. The actual risk from the aircraft was negligible, but the dust build up on the cold weather clothes was considerable. In 1968 a group of boffins from ARE arrived and our clothing was checked for radiation hazard. The result was that our beloved parkas were confiscated , sealed into steel drums and hauled away. (As the squadron wag put it "They're going to air drop them in E Germany, to poison the red hordes")

[Prangster]

How do you decontaminate a radioactive V bomber continued

Yes I appreciate the 'you wash it' comments but suspect you've now got a contaminated airfield as well as the not quite so clean flying machine, also, in the Victors case, all that lovely radioactive air digested by those Conways, surely some glunk stuck in the engines

[ZH875]

Well if you have no reason to go into a Victor intake, you have nothing to worry about...

And the Vulcan intake is too high to sniff, so stop worrying.

[alisoncc]

And the Vulcan intake is too high to sniff

Not if you're standing on top of the wing with a brush and hosepipe. Just lean over the edge and "sniff" it.

Re: contaminated airfields. At Finningley we had a specially built pan for washing airies. It was gently sloping towards the centre where there was a drain that caught all the run-off. Suspect knowing MPBW it then joined all the other drains, and went off into some river somewhere.

[Agaricus bisporus]

And the Vulcan intake is too high to sniff

But not too high to "contaminate" with sacks full of silica gel!

[turbroprop]

My worry would be the air conditioning system. If the aircraft had to fly through a dirty cloud, how do you stop contamination entering the cockpit / flight deck via the air conditioning system. Even if the system turned off and the crew on oxygen, there must be contamination trapped in the intakes to enter the aircraft at a later date.

[teeteringhead]

Nevertheless, as 'green' politics developed, the wash-down of even the tiniest level of nuclear contamination became an increasing political and logistical problem.

.. indeed so BEags.

One visited AWRE many years ago, and part of the "leaving procedure" was to wash hands - rest of us was covered with er - coveralls!

Drill was:

1. Wash hands
2. Put hands into hole in wall
3. If green light, all OK - if red light GOTO 1.

Paper towels used - whether post "green" or "red" hand-washes - were put into a bin.

"You see them towels?" says long-suffering escort.

"They're now "low-level nuclear waste!" - and so were encased in concrete and deeply buried or whatever.

Elf 'n' safety gorn mad..........

[Pontius Navigator]

The dosimeters mentioned by Alison were common in the early 60s when the Vulcans spent most of the flight at levels above 400 and atmospheric testing was the norm.

I suspect some of it was a data gathering exercise for Concorde which would fly even higher.

The aircraft were all washed on the wash pan, thus concentrating any contamination but don't ask me what happened to the waste.

As aircrew we noticed that ATC also wore dosimeters but we sat behind a flimsy RAM blanket (allegedly) and flew in potentially contaminated air but were never issued with dosimeters. I wonder why.

[alisoncc]

we sat behind a flimsy RAM blanket (allegedly) and flew in potentially contaminated air but were never issued with dosimeters. I wonder why.

PN, V-Bomber aircrew were already determined to be dispensable, so wasn't worth the expense. I mean if they went out for real they weren't expected to come back.

[Rigex]

Glowing "V's"

I remember at Waddo, circa 65/66 we washed the Vulcans (which picked up radioactive atmospheric dust in flight) on a special area between two of the hangars. Lots of water and a solution of "industrial fairy liquid" applied with brushes! Everyone had a great time getting soaked and soapy, whilst wearing rubberised overalls which rejoiced in the name of "Zoot suits".
The run-off was directed into settlement tanks, the water eventually being sent into the drains, while the solid stuff which had settled out was collected and disposed of "somewhere".
There was one occasion when some medic/health persons tested some lumps of Wadpol (a sort of impregnated cotton wool) which had until then, been used for cleaning small areas. The resulting screeching from the Geiger counters led to the practice being hurridly banned.

[Blacksheep]

The resulting screeching from the Geiger counters led to the practice being hurridly banned.

The reason for the shabby finish on them. I too remember Zoot Suits, they were very unpopular out on the Line because one sweated like pig when wearing one. So, we all wore "previously owned" parkas, patched up with black bodge tape and previously owned Trogg Boots and second or third hand seaboot socks.

[WH904]

There are pictures of the Victor SR2s floating about that show the aircraft when they had sample filters attached to the front of the underwing tanks. As far as I can determine, only Canberras carried the sample filter shrouds before the Victor, and then of course the Vulcan B2MRR did on the front of converted Sea Vixen fuel tanks. After that the sample shrouds re-appeared on the VC10 (on an underwing pod) so I guess they will re-appear in due course under the ghastly Airbus.

[options770]

When I was on 27 we did the sampling from Midway and the aircraft were cleaned after every flight just to get rid of the oil and other substances stuck to the surfaces. This was to keep then clean and make it easier to decontaminate if we actually caught the cloud.
On our second detachment we thought we had and went through the 100% oxygen, no eating and full decontamination on landing, however we were clean.
Another crew the following day did hit pay dirt, their aircraft was hot and was decontaminated, but on the way home to Scampton it was decontaminated again at McClellan by the americans and I understand that it was still relatively hot when it got home.

[Busta]

options770

I think it was Aroma 8 (possibly 9), I may have been the lucky boy who "dirtyfied" one of our arial carriages. I believe that we had to route home through Loring as a result.

Nothing matters very much, most things don't matter at all.

[avionic type]

Blacksheep were your "Zoot Suits " the old green Anti kerosine rubberised overalls beloved by we Jet Ground crew in th early 50s plus the excuse for not having shiney boots [rubber soled] because of parrafin contamination? they were lovely and warm in the winter and we got away with a painted squadron name across the back
Perhaps someone has the answer to all these contamination problems as I too spent the first 15 years of my life working on aircraft with these type of instruments and don't want to die as I'm only nearly 82 and in good health.

[canard68]

I was told by a Vulcan flight test engineer at Woodford that a shower block was built to decontaminate workers after test flights had been conducted at high altitude during the period when Russia and the US were doing atmospheric Nuclear tests.

[Tee Emm]

[QUOTE]How do you decontaminate a radioactive V bomber]

Recommend you read "Sniffing and Bottling" : 1323 Flight and its successors. By Dave Forster. A fine book about the activities of cloud sampling by RAF Canberra bombers during United States hydrogen bomb tests in the Marshall islands of the Pacific in 1954. Decontamination of these aircraft is described in the book. See elsewhere in Pprune Aviation History forum about the book. Available on www.lulu.com for a ridiculously cheap price of around $10

[Rigex]

Zoot suits

Avionic Type; I believe that Blacksheep and I shared the same sort of Zoots which if memory serves, appeared in the 60's. They were horrible black things with a fake fur collar! As B-sheep says, they were worse than useless, the wearer inevitably sweating so much that it was wetter in than out - regardless of the ambient temp. or humidity!