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Overall walk-around of the hatch's EVA handle.

Picture 3 of 3.

Note the two white disks on the lower portion of the handle. These radioluminescent (RL) disks, approximately 5/8 inch in diameter, would glow in the dark, for the case that it would be necessary to perform an emergency transfer EVA.

The disks glowed because they contained the radiological element Promethium 147, which period documentation described as "slightly radioactive." Most or all of the Apollo command module EVA handles have been removed and destroyed as nuclear waste, due to safety concerns (see Apollo 11 Spacecraft Handle. The only flown external handle from the Apollo program for additional information).

I asked an SLSC staff member who was answering questions about the exhibits about the EVA handles on the command module, and he confirmed that they were replicas without any radioactive material. Presumably, this EVA handle on the hatch is also a replica.

The diagonal bar on the bottom of the handle is the EVA tether attach point.