HEIN ONLINE • l i DATE DOWNLOADED Wed Nov 3 09 14 36 2021 SOURCE Content Downloaded from HeinOnline Citations Bluebook 21st ed I 1979 Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history and studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation United States Senate ALWD 6th ed Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science Transportation United States Senate 1979 APA 7th ed 1979 Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history and studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation United States Senate Washington U S Govt Print Off Chicago 17th ed Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history and studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation United States Senate Washington U S Govt Print Off McGill Guide 9th ed Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science Transportation United States Senate Washington U S Govt Print Off 1979 AGLC 4th ed Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history and studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation United States Senate U S Govt Print Off 1979 MLA 8th ed Microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow review of its history and studies to determine whether or not related health defects were experienced by employees assigned in the period 1953-1977 prepared at the request of Howard W Cannon chairman Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation United States COMMITTEE PRINT MICROWAVE IRRADIATION OF THE U S EMBASSY IN MOSCOW REVIEW OF ITS HISTORY AND STUDIES TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT RELATED HEALTH DEFECTS WERE EXPERIENCED BY EMPLOYEES ASSIGNED IN THE PERIOD 1953-1977 PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF Chairman COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ·HoN HowARD W CANNON APRIL 1979 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation U S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIC DJ 43-949 WASHINGTON 1979 COMMITTEE ON COMMEOOE SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION HOWARD W CANNON Nevada Chairman WARREN G MAGNUSON Wa sbington RUSSELL B LONG Louisiana ERNEST F HOLLINGS South Carolina DANIEL K INOUYE Hawaii ADLAI E STEVENSON Illinois WENDELL H FORD Kentucky DONALD W RIEGLE JR Michigan J JAMES EXON Nebra ska HOWELL HEFLIN Alabama BOB PACKWOOD Oregon BARRY GOLDWATER Arizona HARRISON H SCHMITT New Mexico JOHN C DANFORTH Missouri NANCY LANDON KASSEBAUM Kansa s LARRY PRESSLER South Dakota JOHN W WARNER Virginia L SARVIS Staff Director and Chief Counsel EDWIN K HALL General Counsel MALCOLM M B STERRETT Minority Staff Director AUBREY If I I LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL U S SENATE COMMERCE SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION May 1 1979 DEAR COLLEAGUE It was indicated in the Report on Radiation Health and Safety released as a staff report in December 1978 that a separate report would be frepared on microwave irradiation of the U S Embassy in Moscow am pleased now on behalf of the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation to release this staff report covering study of that matter Persons readin§ this report may know that the U S Embassy inMoscow was subJected over a period of approximately 25 years to microwave radiation The intensity of that radiation was within the levels permissible in the Soviet Union for public exposure and far· below the levels considered acceptable in the United States N everthe_ less committee members as well as present and former employees assigned to the Embassy and many other persons were concerned as to whether any adverse health effects were encountered by people so exposed and whether Government agencies involved particularly the Department of State provided adequate measures to assure the health and safety of personnel involved This staff report reviews the history of that irradiation of the U S Embassy including actions taken and studies conducted to determine whether or not the health and safety of U S personnel were in any way jeopardized It also examines the question as to the adequacy of the information provided by the Department of State to employees assigned Although it has not been officially approved by the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation I believe this staff report will answer for many persons their questions concerning this unfortunate episode Sincerely HOWARD w CANNON Ohairman Co wMITTEE ON 11111 CONTENTS Introduction _____________________________________________________ _ Nature and history of the radiation activity ______________________ _ State Department discovery __ -----------------------------Description of the microwave radiation ______________________ _ Moscow viral study _________________________________________ _ Purpose and scope ________________________________________ _ Findings _________________________________________________ _ Peer review of methodology and findings ____________________ _ Conclusions of the State Department _______________________ _ Project Pandora ______________________________________________ _ Purpose _________________________________________________ _ Initial activity ___________________________________________ _ Project monitorin ----- ___________________________________ _ Findings of the imtial principal investigator __________________ _ N_ee for hu a 11 subj cts-Project Big Boy ________________ _ Fmdings of Big Boy ------------------------------------Planning for laboratory studies with humans _________________ _ Reexamination and review of all project work at WRAIR _____ _ Conclusions of the Science Advisory Committee ______________ _ Study of lymphocyte counts ___________________________________ _ Scope and duration _______________________________________ _ Characteristics of lymphocytes _____________________________ _ Studypopulaton _________________________________________ _ Principal findings _________________________________________ _ Conclusions of the study director ___________________________ _ Johns Hopkins foreign service health status study _________________ _ Purpose and scope ________________________________________ _ Basic data sources ________________________________________ _ Study group composition __________________________________ _ Print l gs _________________________________________ _ a Mortality comparison _____________________________ _ b Morbidity comparison_----------------------------Employee dependents _________________________________ _ a Mortality ________________________________________ _ b Morbidity _______________________________ -- -- ---- -Conclusions of the study team------------------------- ---Public issues comments and conclusions _________________________ _ V Page 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 16 16 16 17 19 19 20 22 23 INTRODUCTION Approximately 6 ·years ago it became known to the public and the Congress that the U S Embassy in Moscow-the chancery and its occupants-had been irradiated over a long calendar period dating back perhaps to 1953 by microwaves of variable but low intensity from different directions and for purposes unknown A number of media accounts in recent years have implied with varying degrees of conviction that the health of a number of Embassy employees had been injured or threatened by this radiation Some of those accounts implied that the Government agencies involved appeared either indifferent to those health hazards or unwilling or unable to remedy the situation · All the known facts relating to this matter were sought during public hearings conducted in June 1977 by the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation supplemented by a classified briefing of the Committee and professional staff members by the Departments of State and Defense This report is issued to summarize and present the history and nature of this irradiation activity and of the action taken by Government agencies for the health and safety of U S personnel involved NATURE AND HISTORY OF THE RADIATION ACTIVITY STATE DEPARTMENT DISCOVERY Initial discovery by the State Department of the existence of such microwave irradiation dates back to approximately 1953 At that time and for a number of years thereafter neither the eublic nor the scientific community nor Government agencies responsible for public health were generally aware of or concerned about the possible but undetermined health hazards of low-intensity microwaves Military systems e g radar surveillance and commercial systems e g VHF broadcasting which emit such radiation had been in widespread use for a number of years Little was done or recorded by the State Department concerning this irradiation activity until the early sixties at which time appropriate equipment was made available for on-site measurement of the microwave characteristics The measured characteristics included primarily intensity frequency and duration of the radiation By early 1963 this morntoring included recorders capable of continuous and permanent recording of the radiation characteristics in the chancery Embassy employees were not informed by the State Department of the presence of this radiation throughout the period from its initial discovery until early 1976 when a decision to install protective screenin over the chancery was made However media reports in 1972 diet disclose presence of this radiation 1 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE MICROWAVE RADIATION The following abbreviated summary of the principal characteristics of the radiation is based upon testimony submitted to the Committee by witnesse appearing during its Oversight He gs on Public ealth and Safety m June 1977 More complete details will be found m the hearing record identified as publicat10n Serial No 95-49 The originally measured radiation from August 1963 until May 1975 consISted of microwaves in the frequency range from 2 56 to 4 1 gigahertz 1 with occasional variations Each variation or mode was on the air no more than about 6 hours and the total continuous duration including several modes in sequence was never transmitted for more than about 48 hours The radiation intensity remained at approximately 5 microwatts per square centimeter 2 at the strongest point of the beam on the west face of the Embassy building In any or all of its modes the radiation was on the air about one-third of the time In January 1973 an additional signal was detected which was discontinued in March 1973 and reappeared briefly in February 1974 and more J ermanently in May 1975 This signal originated from the east replacmg the first signal which was from the west The newer signal was an unevenly distributed wideband noise-moduated microwave transmission which expanded the frequency coverage from a pproximately 0 6 to 9 5 gigahertz In August 1975 another signal origmating from the south was detected These two signals displayed equivalent frequency modes and continued almost daily from that time until January 1979 when all radiation ceased entirely reportedly as a result of a fire in one or more buildings from which the radiation originated To monitor those signals and determine trends in microwave freq_uency power levels and activity patterns both signals were contmually recorded and results telegraphed daily from the Embassy to the Medical Services Office of the State Department The activity level ranged over the years from a low of about 8 5 h0urs per day to a high of about 20 hours per day with minimal activity on weekends When the source of the radiation shifted from the west to the east and was supplemented in August 1975 by another signal from the south the resultant maximum radiation intensity was measured to be as high as 18 microwatts per square centimeter at times Pulsing of the signal appeared in contrast to the continuous wave originally coming from the west By February 1976 protective screening was installed at the chancery At about that time the radiation intensity striking the chancery had been reduced to about 2 microwatts per square centimeter The effect of the screening was to reduce it to levels below 0 2 microwatts per square centimeter within the chancery It remained at those levels until its cessation in January 1979 1 This is a measure of the frequency of the microwaves One hertz is one cycle per second One kilohertz Is 1 000 cycles per second One megahertz is one million cycles per second One gigahertz is one billion cycles per second Microwave ovens typically operate at 2 45 gigahertz · 'Microwave intensity is generally measured in microwatts or milliwatts per square centimeter A milli• watt is 1 000 microwatts Thema x mum permissible intensity in the Soviet Union for worker exposure is 10 ·micro watts per square centimeter The corresponding recommended limit in the United States and Canada is 10 milliwatts per square centimeter 10 000 microwatts per square centimeter 3 Moscow VIRAL STUDY PURPOSE AND SCOPE By the midsixties there was sufficient awareness of the concern among a growing number of medical scientists as to the possibility of biological effects of microwaves to prompt the Medical Services Office to conduct an internal survey in 1965 of the medical records of 139 employees and 268 dependents assigned to the Moscow Embassy The results of that survey are quoted below No recognizable patterns of disease or evidence of recurring problems were noted The incidence of abnormalities does not appear significantly unusual It is recognized that a retrospective study such as this in contrast to a prospective study where a specific examination proforma is followed is of limited value 1 Statistical significance of findings cannot be determined 2 No control group is available 3 Examinations were conducted at varying intervals at different facilities and without consistency as to thoroughness type of examination or recording of findings 4 Listing of interval illnesses often is incomplete 5 Examination of children under age of 12 usually consists only of a statement of present health No record of prior illnesses is submitted The inconclusive findings of that internal survey led to a contract study performed by the George Washington University School of Medicine for the Department of State It was initiated on March 29 1966 under Contract No SCC-31252 and completed on June 30 1969 under Contract No SCC-31759 The ambiguous froject indentification Moscow Viral Study was adopted for genera internal reference within the State Department to avoid employee concern which might be precipitated by the more definitive official title of the study CytogenicEvaluationofMutagenic Exposure 3 The program involved analysis and study of coded blood samples provided by employees before during and after exposure to microwave radiation at the Moscow Embassy It was under the direction of Dr Cecil Jacobson Assistant Professor and then Chief of the Reproductive Genetics Unit at the George Washington University School of Medicine During the period of this study in particular during calendar years 1967 and 1968 approximately 250 samples were provided from more than 71 State Department employees and family members A number of these samples were taken from 13 personnel before assignment to the Moscow Embassy These provided a control reference The others were taken during the period of their assignment and at various periods after completion This program constituted an objective effort by the Medical Services Office of the Department of State to determine whether in fact employees subject to this irradiation were experiencing any health hazards attributable to it It was recognized that other characteristics of the environment in the City of Moscow and at the Moscow Embassy could be causal factors of certain health defects which would 1 In lay terms this would mean an evaluation of the effect on oell structure of exposure capable of cans ng a change in hill Illl terlaj 43-949-79-2 4 considerably complicate the problem of analysis As a step toward isolating the radiation factor a record was developed showing the approximate actual exposure to the Embassy irradiation of each individual in the study This was done by classifying each individual in accordance with his place of residency whether within or outside the Embassy in which wing on which floor of the Embassy he or she normally worked and the duration of such assignments These data were available for subsequent evaluation of the findings of the study FINDINGS The final report of tbe study was issued in August 1969 The principal investigator directing the study cited important limitations inherent in the techniques then available for the study which combined with the limited state of knowledge of that branch of scientific investigation appeared to impair the reliability of his findings and conclusions The following statements from his final report illustrate the nature of his concerns in this area At present the degree of clinical importance of chromosomal breakage is a debatable issue 4 The contractor accepted these contracts in order to investigate this area However in the absence of serial samples the contractor has been forced to make a judgment on a single sample and thus it was necessary to attribute significance to chromatid and chromosome breaks when present in high frequency even in the absence of definitive markers In the absence of consensus in the literature on these findings a cautious attitude was adopted which may result in an overestimate of the patients mutagenic risks The attempt to establish a more quantifiable method of estimating clinical risks was beset with numerous difficulties A major concern was the relative risks attributable to both the percent of cells showing aberrations and the number and type of aberrations per cell The numerical average often does not reflect the variation between cells The occasional presence of structural rearrangements such as dicentrics and exchanges seen in a sample perplex the investigator due to their rarity in controls It was felt by the contractor that by rigidly adhering to the techniques utilized at the inception of this contract both evaluation of patient exposure and technical methodology could be ascertained To the extent tempered by such expressions of uncertainty on the part of the principal investigator his principal findings and judgments can be summarized as follows Potentially significant chromosomal anomalies were recorded and classified into five types Chromatid post DNA replication pre-division Chromosome pre DNA replication pre-division Marker post division with replicating error Aneuploidy chromosomal count other than 46 and Clonal an aberrant cell population with the same abnormality The individual blood samples were then analyzed for frequency of occurrence of such anomalies and aberrations On the basis of those counts the principal investigator and study director reported findings indicating that 43 percent of the subjects exposed to the Moscow Embassy irradiation should be classified as either having actually • This uncertainty Is again reflected In a technical paper published In 1975 As co-author Dr Jacobson stated In most cases the consequences ollnduced chromosome breakage are yet to be determined We hope that responsible cytogenetic studies of suitable industrial populations will be a significant force in the development of this urgently needed knowledge See Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Volume 269 p 10 December 31 1975 · 5 experienced high risk of mutagenic exposure or were highly suspect thereof However the study also showed that 38 percent of the controli subjects based on corresponding analysis of blood samples taken before assi2D IDent of those subjects to the Moscow Embassy fell into that risk cfassification The uncertainties of the laboratory methodol·ogy and the statistical limitations of the data appear to eliminate any significance in the difference between those two numbers Of at least equal importance was the inability of the analysis to account for extraneous factors such as caffeine which can also contribute to such anomalies PEER REVIEW OF ME'l'E ODOLOGY AND FINDINGS For 6 months preceding issuance of that report the State Department's Medical Services Office sought and obtained several rndependent reviews of the emergino- results of the study conveyed through earlier progress reports These judgments were from experts in the field of cyto enetics and medical genetics One of these experts was recommencted by the principal investigator of the study and two were independently selected These specialists were Dr David A Hungerford The Institute for Cancer Research Fox-Chase · Philadelphia Pa Dr Kurt Hirschhorn Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics Chief Division of Medical Genetics Mount Sinai School of Medicine City University of New York Dr J H Tjio Chief Section on Cytogenetics National Institutes of Health These specialists independently examined representative portions of the slides and data developed in the study a number of them selected by the study director Each of these specialists independently rejected the judgments and conclusions of the study director Their reasons for such rejection were varied In one case the reviewer's remarks concerning the slides and related data included the following Poor Quality Can't draw conclusions Can't classify for clinical point Another reviewer commented as follows All of these counts derive from the examination of 50 metaphases by two independent observers one of which is me in terms of severity of aberrations these all fall into the normal range in our laboratory The only case which might be considered borderline is X-53 but we have seen this much in normals as well We consider gap as meaningless and would tend to ignore all of our findings in view of the absence of chromosomal rearrangements such as dicentrics rings or exchange figures I would therefore say from a chromosomal point of view that the clinical impression is of no risk Another reviewer stated Before commenting further it is necessary for me to say something concerning the generally poor quality of the preparations Many of the metaphases are over colchimized such that the chromosomes are super condensed In addition the preparations are often over or understained and there is a good deal of artifact present To sum up unless the quality of work can be immediately and drastically improved I would recommend in view of the seriousness of the matter and the difficulties inherent in the project that it be done elsewhere CONCLUSIONS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT On the basis of these negative assessments both of the methodology and the conclusions drawn from this study · the Medical Services '6 Office of the Department of State decided in June of 1969 against renewal and extension of that study The State Department also accepted at that time the judgment and conclusions of the previously identified independent specialists to the effect that the Moscow Viral Study had not established any genetic or other· adverse biological effect on employees and dependents attributable to microwave irradiation of the Moscow Embassy It should be noted that the study was also unable conclusively to establish that no adverse effect could be present PROJECT p AND ORA PURPOSE This project was initiated in early 1965 through funding to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research WRAIR provided by the Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA It's mission was to investigate possible behavioral and bioeffects primarily the former on primates when the latter were irradiated with microwave signals simulating the exvosure of Embassy employees in Moscow Toward that end a special signal was established which contained as far as it was then believed practical the structure of the actual Moscow signal with respect to such parameters as frequency modulation and continuity In order to accelerate J Otential conclusions the intensity of the signal was set to the maXlillum useful capability of the laboratory equipment then available which yielded an exposure intensity of between 4 and 5 milliwatts per square centimeter compared to the average intensity of a Moscow signal which generally measured between 2 and 18 microwatts per square centimeter The program was classified according to the record more to avoid publicity as to the purpose of the investigation than to protect the research or scientific values that might emerge Included in the ARPA funding was a contract with Allied Research to perform a comprehensive survey of East European scientific literature detailing experimental work containing indications of behavioral effects on anunals attributable to microwave irradiation That effort produced a complete bibliography of such work dating back to the early 1930's and nearly up to the date of its publication in December 1969 Both the State Department and the Institute for Defense Analysis considered it important to know whether or not the Moscow Embassy irradiation was able to influence in any way the behavior of persons subjected to it Even as this report is prepared there is little scientific evidence of such effects although a number of investigators are performing research in this field with small laboratory animals In the midsixties virtually nothing was known about such possible effects except that East European studies had reported such mdications These had not been verified by U S scientists In that period there was hardly any open scientific interchange among U S and Russian scientists and little of the work published in the Eastern European countries had been translated or abstracted in English INITIAL ACTIVITY The record of what was done durin the course of this program is scattered and incomplete The experimental program was severely 7 hampered by the absence of established laboratory techniques and procedures for such experiments at WRAIR There existed no comprehensive protocol for the conduct of the experimental program The principal investigator Maj Joseph Sharp viewed it as an exploratory study to identify effects that might justify experimental research thereafter The results of these studies were ambiguous and controversial The experimental methodology led to inconclusive results No comprehensive project report was ever prepared Portions of the project record consisting of certain classified documents were destroyed in September of 1973 about 2 years after the project was terminated Efforts by the Committee during the hearing m June 1977 and in subsequent briefings by the Departments of State and Defense were unable to ascertain any reason other than routine disposal of records which had no further value Remaining unclassified notebooks graphs and material perta to animal acquisition feed purchases etc devoid of useful scientinc significance were turned over to the Committee in January 1978 Copies of remaining classified documents records of what had been destroyed were provided on June 29 1978 at the request of the Committee PROJECT MONITORING In 1968 a designated Pandora Science Advisory Committee was established to guide and advise on the continued conduct of the Pandora Project This Science Advisory Committee SAC was made up of a number of scientists from a broad spectrum of activities and involvement in the field the majority of them from outside the Government This Advisory Committee included Dr Joseph E Barmack Professor of Psychology Fordham University Dr James N Brown Electrical Engineer Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dr H Allen Ecker Electrical Engineer Georgia Institute of Technology Dr Joseph Kubis Behavioral Psychologist Chief Department of Psychology City College of New York Dr Lawrence Sher Associate Professor Bio-Physics University of Pennsylvania Gen Carl Hughes Commanding General Walter Reed Army Medical Center Dr Lysle H Peterson Chairman Professor of Physiology University of Pennsylvania and President University City Science Center and Dr Herbert Pollack Professor of Medicine George Washington University Medical Consultant Department of Defense Senior Staff Member Institute for Defense Analysis The principal findings of the project thereafter are contained in the minutes of the SAC project review meetin 58 commencing December 20 1968 through January 12 1970 involvmg WRAIR project staff representatives of the sponsoring agencies and SAC Highlights from those meetings follow More complete details are available in the published record 5 · • The Illlnutes of these meetings are included in the published record Serie I No 95-49 of the Committee Oversight Hearings on Re diation Hee Ith and Safety June 1977 8 FINDINGS OF THE INITIAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR ln the December 20 1968 meeting the WRAIR project staff presented a summary of the experimental procedures and sl llected findings of the work accomplished up to that time on primates The findings reflected the principal investigator's Major Sharp's interpreta_tion of the experiments to the e fect that learnip g behavior was rmpaired by extended exposure to nncrowaves He cited results with two monkeys exposed to the Special Moscow signal at intensities from 1 to 4 6 milliwatts per square centimeter They showed degradation in previously learned work performance after 11 to 21 days of such exposure at 10 hours per day This behavioral degradation was reversible However the calendar time to achieve such degradation decreased somewhat with repeated series of exposures which would suggest some cumulative effect The foregoing findin were not supported by subsequent experiments Further discussion of these contradictory results is provided in a following section which reviews project work at WRAIR NEED FOR HUMAN SUB 1ECTS-PRO 1ECT BIG BOY Discussion of the project goals led the Pandora Science Advisory Committee SAC to conclude that experimentation with human subjects was essential due to fundamental limitations in any animal studies relating especially to behavior A key limitation was recognized by the SAC Although alteration in learning and performance capability might indeed be detectable and even measurable in a properly conducted experimental program rith animals it might forever be impossible to detect and measure significant subjective effects relating to feelings attitudes moods etc which have such a dominant effect on human behavior Obviously it would require human subjects to help identify describe and characterize such possible effects which could then be correlated to the intensity duration and other parameters of the radiation to which they had been exposed Accordingly the general outline of and criteria for a study protocol was suggested based on utilization of human subjects During the following Pandora meeting of January 17 1969 the SAO reviewed what was then known about the effects of microwave radiation on the physiological and psychological functions of humans This led to selection of criteria applicable to both physiological and psychological effects to be observed and measured in an experimental program involving crew members from the U S S Saratoga This proposed study would involve two groups of Navy crewmen from this ship of which one group was regularly exposed above deck to ship's · radar and the other group regularly assigned below deck and effectively isolated from any significant microwave exposure Responsibility for direction of the experimental study was assigned to Dr Kubis and his team with the support of Commander Pratt and his staff from the 'Saratoga The program would include recurring physical examinations as well as psychological examinations of the various crewmen in the two groups The study was named Big Boy 9 FINDINGS OF BIG BOY11 During the review meeting of April 21 1969 the activities and findings of the foregoing study were evaluated Crewmen from the Saratoga had been selected and classified into three 'roups Those with the highest levels of e irpected exposure those with low expected levels an l those with no expected exposure Dockside control tests as well as seagoing tests were conducted with the subjects in the three categories indicated In spite of the difficulty of conducting tests under actual operational conditions compared to tests conducted under laboratory conditions the testing was regarded by Dr Kubis as satisfactory The key findings were these 1 There were no significant differences discernible among the three groups either in the dockside or underway tests with respect either to task performance psychological effects or biological effects 2 Although it was initially expected that maximum microwave exposure intensity would be as high as 10 milliwatts per square centimeter over 80 percent of the carrier deck measurements in fact disclosed a maximum of 1 milliwatt per square centimeter and generally less than one-third of that maximum 3 Blood studies revealed two conditions requiring further analysis which were subsequently determined to fall within the· normal range PLANNING FOR LABORATORY STUDIES WITH HUMANS The results of the experiment with crewmen aboard the Saratoga led to refocusing of the attention of the SAC on the experimental work underway at WRAIR and at other laboratories and universities dealing with microwave radiation This included a review of the findings from WRAIR's work with primates the findings then reported from the George Washington Umversity Moscow Viral Study and an earlier Johns Hopkins study of Mongoloid children born to veterans exposed to radar Review of all these studies confirmed to the SAC the impossibility of drawing any reliable conclusions without additional scientific study WRAIR was requested to develop a protocol for an expanded study based on human subjects In its meeting of May 12 1969 SAC reviewed WRAIR's proposed protocol for a classified study involving eight human subjects to be exposed to the same synthetic Moscow signal previously established for the WRAIR primate study This protocol provided for special protective measures to be applied to safeguard the health of the subjects Included would be an independent medical function to monitor the physical condition of the subjects and to provide regular psychiatric screening This responsibility would be executed independent of the research project with medical personnel having no involvement in the experimental program and no commitment to its findings In addition the protocol provided an array of safeguards established to correct previous experimental deficiencies in the primate stu dies In the SAC meeting of June 18 1969 the urgency of proceeding with the experimental program was reaffirmed by ARP A Emphasis 10 ' was again placed by ARPA on the need to know whether or not the Moscow radiation could significantly affect personnel behavior and if so what characteristics of the signal e g intensity modulation etc were the most significant parameters in affecting such behavior In the July 16 1969 meeting SAO concentrated on a review of the required facilities and resources for the proposed WRAIR program These included anechoic chambers computer software and hardware etc In addition the proposed program schedule for implementation was reviewed SAO also requested early preparation of a complete summary of the WRAIR studies to date REEXAMINATION AND REVIEW OF ALL PROJECT WORK AT WRAIR The Aucrust 12 and 13 1969 meetings of the SAO were devoted to a compfete review of the earlier WRAIR primate work previously -deferred to allow the second principal investigator Maj Jaines T Mcilwain to study and assess earlier laboratory records and to conduct additional tests One series of experiments involved two monkeys which were subjected to signals of 4 6 mW cm2 and· 20 mW cm2 respectively Neither of the primates showed any discernible effect of exposure or nonexposure during 250 to 500 simple learnincr tests performed each day Another phase of the experiment expanded the study to four monkeys subjected to 4 6 mW cm 2 and included a multiple schedule of learning tests and rewards Again no significant effects could be identified which could confirm earlier findings In · general these findings and assessments presented by Major Mcilwain differed markedly from those reported in the December 1968 meeting by Major Sharp During the December 4 1969 meeting of SAO a detailed report was given by Dr Kubis who had been requested subsequent to the J revious SAO meeting to conduct a detailed personal study of the Pandora project effort In particular he was asked to reconcile the difference in interpretation of those earlier results by Dr Sharp the initial principal investigator and Dr Mcilwain the second principal investigator The essence of Dr Kubis' report was this Dr Sharp interpreted the initial assignment as being exploratory in nature It was a pilot experiment seeking leads of possible significance which would warrant experimental research The most one _can draw from such experiments are suggestions not scientific conclusions The base line data from which to assess changes in animal behavior was weak because no ·control animals were employed The sample was too small to permit delineation of effects attributable to external factors versus effects that might be attributable to changes in radiation exposure The experimental work was hampered by excessive mechanical equipment failures involving laboratory equipment which could have had more effect on animals' learning pattel'Ij S than the radiation CONCLUSIONS OF THE SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE In the January 12 1970 meeting of the SAO the Kubis report as above summarized was reviewed and discussed in detail The SAO came to the following conclusions 11 a The Pandora primate study did not pr vide an acceptable answer to the question as to whether or not any effects either behavioral or biological could be caused by microwave radiation of the intensity and characteristics contained in the synthetic Moscow signal This failure to provide an answer was due to 1 Assumptions and criteria underlying the experiments were appropriate to an exploratory study to define appropriate research experiments not to provide scientific results 2 Contamination of control conditions precluded establishment of acceptable base lines from which to judge departures in behavior of the subjects 3 Contamination of experimental conditions by equipment malfunctionings and variations in procedure precluded assignment of any observed effect to such conditions or to changes in radiation exposure b Reliance would have to be placed on future experimental work to be done at WRAIR and elsewhere primarily with human subjects even• though grave questions as to the ethical acceptability of such studies were still unanswered Project Pandora was terminated on March 20 1970 without further investigation Its extension to proposed experimentation with humans was never carried out because of the DOD's concern about ill-defined requirements then emerging for fully informed and consenting subjects for human experimentation STUDY OF LYMPHOCYTE COUNTS SCOPE AND DURATION This study was undertaken by Dr Thomas P Stossel Chief Medical Oncology Unit of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard University It was authorized by the Medical Services Office of the Department of State and initiated in February 1976 and completed in June 1978 Blood counts taken by the Embassy resident medical officer as part of a general health survey on Moscow Embassy personnel had indicated a higher than average lymphocyte count It was the purpose of this study to determine the health implications and in particular whether or not this higher than normal count could be attributed to the irradiation of Embassy personnel Since it was well known that children have higher 'lymphocyte counts than adults and the counts observed in children associated with the Moscow Embassy were not statistically significant from those generally published for children in the United States it was decided to limit the detailed scope of the study to adult employees of the Embassy including dependents to the extent possible CHARACTERISTICS OF LYMPHOCYTES Lymphocytes are a class of white blood cells capable of recognizing and destroying various types of foreign matter within cells such as viruses fungi protozoa and bacteria The lymphocyte count in peripheral blood samples is variable because it is in dynamic equilibrium with other body lymphocyte compartments any of which may encounter varying intensities of foreign matter It is therefore I 12 important that studies deal with large enough population groups wherein count distribution among the various subjects in the group could have statistical significance The principal causes for elevated lymphocyte counts are these 1 React10n to infection or invasion by foreign materials This count is reversible that is the count drops when the cause has been removed or cured 2 Lymphocyte transformations characteristic of the so-called neo-plastic state These are generally not reversible One major subclassification is referred to as acute lymphatic leukemia in which rapid accumulation of lymphocytes in the bone marrow occurs and will generally be fatal if untreated Chronic lymphatic leukemia corresponds to a gradual accumulation in the blood bone marrow or lymphoid organs Generally this condition is treatable but can become fatal STUDY POPULATION Approximately 350 adult males and females who were Embassy employees or dependents during the time of the study constituted the study population Of these approximately two-thirds were male A control group of approximately 1 000 foreign service personnel pres ent in the United States was included in the survey as a comparison · group Included in the Moscow study group were personnel who had arrived in Moscow prior to February of 1976 and a number who arrived thereafter The potential significance of that elate derives from the fact that protective screening had been installed at the Embassy by that time which reduced the intensity of microwave radiation measurable to miniscule levels i e well below one microwatt per square centimeter Therefore personnel assigned after that date were not subject to significant microwave radiation PRINCIPAL FINDINGS 1 Blood counts from Moscow Embassy subjects showed mean lymphocyte counts among those personnel approximately 41 percent higher than those of the control group of foreign service personnel 2 Such higher lymphocyte counts were present equally among those employees in the test group who arrived prior to Februa1y of 1976 and those who arrived after that date when the exposure intensity had been reduced to insignificant levels 3 The lymphocyte count was equally high among subgroups divided by work location at the chancery that is regardless of whether they worked on floor levels and office locations where the relative intensity was highest or whether they worked in chancery locations where the intensity was lowest 4 The lymphocyte count exhibited a sharp and sustained dropoff after August 1977 for reasons not determined The elevated counts were reversible that is they were reduced to the level of the control group both for persons remaining in Moscow after August 1977 and for those leaving Moscow prior to that date CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY DIRECTOR Quoted below is'the text of the principal conclusions from this study as 1t pertains to the possible relationship of lymphocyte counts to microwave radiation exposure at the Moscow Embassy 13 The changes in the average lymphocyte count in the Moscow population did not correlate either in time or space with the exposure of individuals within the population to microwave irradiation in the embassy i e the level of lymphocyte counts did not change when microwave irradiation within the embassy was reduced did not differ among individuals arriving before or after the reduction in radiation or did not differ among persons likely to be maximally exposed versus those minimally exposed to the radiation The spontaneous remission in the lymphocyte blood count identified it as a reactive state to some foreign intrusion of the body cells attributable to some environmental condition or exposure encountered by the Moscow Embassy employees and residents An attempt was made to obtain corresponding blood count data from the U S S R Ministry of Health for the general population level of Moscow This request was rejected The study group was left then to speculate that the high lymphocyte count may have been attributable to a mild infestation· of a parasite associated with the Giardia infection Giardia epidemics have occurred in various parts of the world including the U S S R An outbreak had occurred among tourists returnino- from Leningrad in 1976 Since such an infection is liable to leave no detectable traces through any routine tests available there was no 'ray to confirm or deny the validity of such speculation During the period of the study there was no overt Giardia epidemic reported in Moscow nor among Moscow Embassy personnel The substantial variation in lymphocyte counts among individuals is such that very few individuals in the population study would have raised the concern of private physicians confronted with those persons' lymphocyte counts The lack of any symptoms of hematologic disease among the subjects confirms a finding that the lymphocyte counts contained no implication with respect to the general health of the population studied The principal investigator on this study summarized his opinion as to the results as follows 1 The U S Embassy personnel in Moscow had a hio-her po pulation average lymphocyte count because there is a mild react10n to an unknown environmental agent 2 Although it is probably not feasible to determine the nature of this agent it is probably microbial 3 This reaction began at an unknown date and persisted until August of 1977 • 4 This reaction disappeared in persons who left Moscow 5 This reaction has no connection with exposure to microwave irradiation in the U S Embassy 6 This reaction has no importance with respect to the general health of persons associated with the U S Embassy JOHNS HOPKINS FOREIGN SERVICE HEALTH STATUS STUDY PURPOSE AND SCOPE f This study was initiited on June 21 1 1976 and was completed with -the issuance of a report on November 20 1978 It was conducted by the School of Hyo-iene and Public Health of Johns Hopkins University • authorized and funded by Study Contract 6025-619073 iranted by the Office of Medical Services of the Department of tltate The 14 ·principal investigator and study director was Dr Abraham Lilienfeld Distinguished Service Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University The objective of the study was to conduct a complete mortality and morbidity analysis of Moscow Embassy employees and dependents assigned there during the period from 1953 to 1976 Included in that group would be employees from all agencies of the Government there assigned not only State Department employees The analysiswould include a comparison of the mortality and morbidity experience of the foregoing study group with a control group 6 from the other East European embassies in Budapest Leningrad Prague Warsaw Belgrade Bucharest Sophia and Zagreb That choice was based upon the desire to have a control group that was as much like· the Moscow Embassy group as practicable In particular the control group would have met the same State Department medical and psychological screening processes applicable to Eastern European assignments and would have been subject during those assignments to• comparable tensions attributable to political climate communications barriers consumer goods scarcities social and cultural activities etc Of critical importance of course was the reported freedom of any of those embassies from microwave irradiation BASIC DATA SOURCES There were four primary sources of input data for the statistical analysis performed These were 1 the State Department and other Government agency medical records 2 individual health history questionnaries 3 death certificates and 4 telephone interviews A major and time-consuming effort was expended in identifying the persons actually involved This effort included for example screening approximately 150 000 service record cards Other sources of data included State Department computer printout of current personnel United States Information Agency Foreign Agriculture Service Abstracts of various Foreign Service lists by State Department personnel Staflino- Patterns June 1976 Who's Who in Moscow August 1976 Marine Security Guards Eastern Europe Department of Defense Army Navy Air Force Marines civilians Department of State personnel Warsaw 1954-76 · Retired Department of State Foreign· Service Office 1'1 Listings of dependents of State Department personnel found in Archives in St Louis ' Directory of Moscow Embassy-1967 Tracing questionnaires Lists and directories mailed in from study participants e Any person serving tours both at Moscow and any other embassy post was included in the Moscow group 15 After the names of the persons encompassed by the two population woups were determined there followed the major task of obtaining mdividual medical histories The following table shows the principal sources for those records Employer Current employees and dependents Retired employees and dependents State Department_ ___________ Medical Record Division State Department Federal Record Center Civilian Record Washington D C Branch St Louis Defense Department mili- At employee's present post United States Military Record Center St Louis tary and foreign countries Defense Department civilian _ Dispensary of present post all over United Federal Record Center Civilian Record States and foreign countries Branch St Louis U S Information Agency _____ Medical Record Division State Department Do Washington D C Foreign Agriculture S1lrvice ________ do___ ____________ __ ____ ______ ______ Do Medical records for cmTent military personnel formerly assigned to the Moscow Embassy were particularly difficult to obtain as they are located with the individual at his current post wherever that may be Indeed the study deadline forced curtailment of the search for a number of these records Quality control procedures were designed and applied to assure thorough abstracting of the desired data from the medical records Monitoring of those procedures was accomplished by a sustained program of 10 percent sampling by independent abstractors Training sessions were conducted to assure standardization in the coding of information extracted for subsequent data processing and analysis For that purpose 150 computer programs were designed of which 100 were for data processing and 50 for data analysis STUDY GROUP COMPOSITION The potential study population of all persons serving or having served at any of the Eastern European embassies during the period January 1 1953 through June 30 1976 totaled 12 671 Of this number about 4 800 employees and dependents had served at Moscow the remainder at the eight comparison posts The massive effort of identifying and tracing the individuals yielded a total of 4 179 employees traced for subsequent analysis In spite of the difficulties encountered in obtaining histories of the persons traced completed data covering information on years observed age at entry into the study and year of arrival at an embassy post was obtained for 4 033 of these Medical abstracts adequate for statistical analysis were compiled for 3 094 employees The age distribution of Moscow and comparison post employees of the State Department were quite similar Approximately one-third of the Moscow employees traced yielded histories of 15 to 20 years duration This provided a base for detecting late eruption of a disease which might possibly have been initiated by early exposure to microwaves at the Moscow Embassy In addition to the employee numbers above summarized the total population included 8 283 dependents of whom 5 474 were children and 2 809 adults Approximately 5 000 of these were not known to have lived at any of the embassy posts Of all the dependents ade- 16 quate medical records could be obtained on 3 881 Of those known to have· resided at an embassy post medical records were attainabl for 2 336 dependents Of the latter number 1 468 were children PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Employees a Mortality comparison The data base for the mortality analysis consisted of a total of 4 179 employees in the Moscow and control groups whose histories could be traced Of these 1 719 were from the Moscow Embassy group and 2 460 were from the comparison post group Of the former 56 had died and of the latter group 138 had died Death certificates or other adequate information for mortality analysis by cause were available for 181 of the deceased subjects Based on the total deaths in the two groups an SMR 7 of 0 4 7 was computed for the Moscow Embassy group versus an SMR of 0 59 for the comparison group from the other Eastern European embassy posts Mortality experience by sex for all causes and for the two principal causes of death is summarized in the following tables MORTALITY COMPARISON MALE Number of deaths male Cause of death All causes _________________________________________ _ Malignant neoplasms ______________________________ _ Heart disease •• ____________________________________ _ R tlo actual to expected Moscow Comparison Moscow 45 107 33 29 o 73 11 17 63 94 Comparison I 2· I 3 1 0 MORTALITY COMPARISON FEMALE Number of deaths female Cause of death All causes _________________________________________ _ Malignant neoplasms ______________________________ _ Heart disease ____________________________________ _ Ratio actual to expected Moscow Comparison Moscow Comparison 11 8 1 31 14 3 0 85 I JO 81 1 1 94 1 1 The foregoing findings indicate that the overall mortality experience involving all causes of deaths were more favorable for the Moscow Embassy group than for the control group This was also true for three of the four subgrouJ S formed about the two principal causes of deaths and the subdivision between male and female The on departure namely the subgroup involving female death rate from malignant neoplasms shows a higher ratio of actual to expected than the ratio obtained for the control group The experts conducting this study did not identify this departure as statistically significant It is recognized that every subgroup reduces the affected population and the number of incidents and thereby the statistical significance of calculated results Further analysis disclosed that there were seven different cancer sites involved in those eight cases which virtually eliminates a single _causal factor 1 This SMR or standardized mortality ratio Is the ratio of actual resnlts encountered to those expected from general population statistics after adjustment for the age distribution Involved 17 b Morbidity comparison Numerous health comparisons were derived from statistical analysis of the incidence of each of approximately 70 medical conditions of the two employee groups as mdicated by health at time of survey record of hospitalization or medical evacuation significant medical problems reported etc Perhaps the most comprehensive of the many comparative analyses completed was that involving 44 standardized medical conditions first occurring after the subject had arrived at an embassy post The two tables on the following pages summarize those results for male and female members of the comparison groups based on abstracts from their medical records Those tables show that the incidence of these 44 medical conditions is quite similar for the Moscow group and the comparison groups The Standardized Morbidity Ratios 8 are higher in the Moscow groups for about half the conditions listed and vice versa Generally the differences are not statistically significant In the few cases where they are it was found that Moscow males had higher rates than the comparison males for protozoa intestinal diseases benign neoplasms and diseases of nerves and peripheral ganglia The rate for pneumonia was higher in the comparison group for males and females Among Moscow females the rates for protozoa intestinal diseases and complications of pregnancy and childbirth were higher than for comparison group females · STANDARDIZED MORBIDITY RATIOS SMBR FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS FIRST ENCOUNTERED AFTER FIRST TOU OF DUTY Moscow group Medical condition MALE Amebiasis __________________________ Protozoa intestinal disease ___________ Diarrheal disease ___________________ ' 'fs1 s i- Infectious hepatitis __________________ Mumps_ __________________________ Dermatop hytosis ____________________ Hel mi nthiasis •• _____________________ Malignant skin neoplasm _____________ Malignant neoplasm excluding skin ___ Benign neoplasms ___________________ Diabetes mellitus ___________________ Obesity nonendocrine _____________ Blood diseases ______________________ N urqses personality disorders _______ M1gra1 ne __________________________ Diseases nerves and peripheral ganglia of _________________________ lnflammato y eye diseases ___________ Eye Refractive errors _______________ Eye other conditions ________________ Diseases of ear and mastoid __________ Hypertensive disease ________________ lschemic heart disease _______________ OIHer forms of heart disease _________ Diseases of arteries arterioles cap iilaries ____________________________ Diseases of veins lymphatitis _________ Acute respiratory infections except In flueoza _________________________ Number of incidents Raterr 1 000 YI 21 21 58 Comparison group SMBR Number of incidents 1 000 PY 1 2 7 9 42 11 15 13 119 22 82 34 82 2 2 0 2 0 5 5 76 19 66 86 4 0 I 0 I 4 1 2 11 3 2 1 7 8 3 2 7 8 19 86 I 7 97 I 5 50 1 0 81 1 0 70 I 3 95 I 2 I 2 98 I 2 1 0 62 41 8 95 5 9 11 19 60 27 15 24 151 26 130 40 122 6 2 5 48 5 8 30 55 67 I 2 3 6 1 6 90 I 5 9 2 I 6 7 9 2 4 7 4 36 32 47 178 77 117 61 39 82 3 0 4 5 16 9 7 3 11 1 5 8 3 7 7 8 I 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 I I 1 0 I 2 1 0 32 70 276 128 149 99 59 131 I 9 4 2 16 7 7 8 9 0 6 0 3 6 7 9 33 168 3 1 16 0 I 3 51 271 3 i 16 4 88' 1 0 79 7 5 I 2 94 5 7 • 9 8 99 Rate per SMB I I 48 1 0 65 I 3 9T I I 99· I 2 80• 1 0 • 9 1 87 1 0 87 98' I 3 so· 1 0 98 1 0 92 9T 90· 96 e Ratio of percent of occurrence in the study group to that expected In the general populatiou adjusted for age and calendar year ' · 18 STANDARDIZED MORBIDITY RATIOS SMBR FDR MEDICAL CONDITIONS FIRST ENCOUNTERED AFTER FIRST TOUR OF DUTY-Continued Moscow group Number of incidents Medical condition Influenza__________________________ PneU Tlonia_________ __ __ __ __ ________ Bronchitis emphysema asthma_______ Other disease upper respiratory tract__ Other diseases of respiratory system__ Diseases of esophagus stomach and duodenum_______________________ Hernia of abdominal cavity___________ -Other diseases of intestine and peritoneum__________________________ Diseases of liver gall bladder pancreas____________________________ Diseases of genitourinary system______ Diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissue____________________________ Diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue______________ Nervousness and debility____________ Accidents poisonings violence_______ Accidents external cause____________ FEMALE Amebiasis ________________________ _ Protozoa intestinal disease _________ _ Diarrheal disease __________________ _ Herpes simplex ____________________ _ Measles __________________________ _ Infectious hepatitis _________________ _ Mumps ___________________________ _ Derma to phytosis ___________________ _ Helminth asis _____________________ _ Malignant skin neoplasm ___________ _ Malignant neoplasm excluding skin __ _ Benign neoplasms _________________ _ Diabetes mellitus __________________ _ Obesity nonendocrine _____________ _ Blood diseases ____________________ _ Neuroses personality disorders ______ _ M1 gra1 ne __________________________ _ Diseases of nerves and peripheral nfi 1J iciry- eye-diseases 1 Eye Refractive errors ______________ _ Eye other conditions ______________ _ Diseases of ear and mastoid _________ _ r s Ji r i_-_- Other forms of heart disease ________ _ Diseases of arteries arterioles capil- _ laries ___________________________ Diseases of veins lymphatitis _______ _ Acute respiratory Infections except _ influenza _______________________ Influenza _________________________ _ Pneumonia ________________________ _ Bronchitis emphysema asthma· _____ _ Other of upper respiratory _ tract_diseases __________________________ Other diseases of respiratory system __ Diseases of esophagus stomach and duodenum ______________________ _ Hernia of abdominal cavity __________ _ Other of intestine and peri• _ toneudiseases m_________________________ Diseases of liver gallbladder pancreas_ Diseases of genitourinary system _____ _ Complications of pregnancy childbirth and puerperium Disease of skin and subcutaneous tis• sue Disease of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue Nervousness and debility ____________ _ Accidents poisonings violence _______ _ Accidents external cause ____________ _ 1 Person years spent at Embassy posts Rate per 1 000 PY I Comparison group SMBR Number of incidents Rate per 1 000 PY I SMBR 40 14 48 80 68 3 8 1 3 4 6 7 6 6 5 1 2 6 • 95 98 1 1 41 42 87 125 90 2 5 2 5 5 3 7 6 5 4 86 1 2 1 0 1 03 9 76 56 7 2 5 3 93 1 1 137 79 8 3 4 8 1 0 92 71 6 7 • 90 137 8 3 1 1 33 162 3 1 15 4 I 0 50 268 3 0 16 2 96 I 0 1 1 239 22 7 1 1 331 20 0 95 227 59 211 86 21 6 5 6 20 0 8 2 • 99 96 1 1 1 1 376 100 288 102 22 8 6 1 17 4 6 2 1 0 1 0 • 96 11 6 23 0 3 5 1 9 7 3 0 64 0 95 1 6 0 32 5 4 20 3 64 11 1 6 0 7 0 1 6 1 6 2 1 1 1 2 45 2 0 3 5 0 1 17 64 2 35 19 22 5 6 11 56 18 27 16 1 9 3 5 17 8 5 7 Und 1 1 Und 1 2 1 0 Und 85 1 2 99 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 1 7 80 11 3 4 3 5 10 4 2 29 140 14 51 40 50 5 1 6 29 6 5 43 58 43 72 1 4 • 58 29 4 2 20 1 2 0 7 3 5 8 7 2 • 72 2 7 91 72 39 95 1 4 97 1 5 90 99 1 4 1 1 92 1 0 1 3 89 99 1 0 71 1 1 90 97 94 98 19 18 115 33 52 43 18 49 2 6 16 5 4 7 7 5 6 2 2 6 7 1 1 2 94 17 2 4 15 5 1 2 90 46 1 0 93 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 5 26 8 6 5 1 1 6 8 3 5 59 1 6 18 8 19 11 5 11 6 0 3 5 1 6 1 1 • 63 78 18 3 5 20 36 6 6 2 6 2 9 5 2 23 19 7 3 82 63 34 9 1 4 9 1 1 92 li 7 5 1 2 2 86 84 44 17 6 3 2 4 1 1 21 10 155 11 6 7 3 2 49 3 3 5 49 15 291 7 1 2 2 41 9 1 0 6 0 94 64 1 1 67 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 4 1 0 1 7 108 9 1 3 1 0 93 1 1 1 1 84 0 98 67 65 20 7 1 0 131 18 9 99 81 25 7 1 1 150 21 6 96 17 51 18 5 4 16 2 1 0 52 7 5 16 0 7 3 99 1 1 5 7 80 82 lll 51 1 1 19 When those same medical conditions were compared within the Moscow group according to the degree of microwave exposure encountered the differences disappeared On the other hand the latter comparison disclosed that the incidence of respiratory tract problems and nervous debility was higher among the unexposed than among the exposed group at Moscow whereas the incidence of other than skin cancer was somewhat higher in the exposed group Insofar as practical the study examined the possible effect of other factors on health status such as cigarette smoking exposure to occupational chemical hazards residence history etc Of these suitable data was obtainable on the most important cigarette smoking Smoking habits were so similar between the two comparison groups among men and women in various age brackets that smoking had to be dismissed as a factor in comparative health statistics In another comparison of 28 more general medical conditions three were identified in which the Moscow group showed statistically significant rates that were higher than the comparison group These were eye problems primarily common refractive errors psoriasis and other assorted skin conditions mostly cysts dermatitis and eczema When these were analyzed in terms of comparative incidence within the Moscow groups for persons maximally exposed to microwaves and those unexposed no statistically significant differences could be found Another analysis of 20 commonly reported symptoms many of a subjective nature showed four with statistically significant higher rates for the Moscow group than for the comparison group These were depression irritability loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating When these were analyzed within the Moscow group it was found that the rate of occurrence was higher among those least exposed to microwaves than among those most exposed For one important condition malignant neoplasms other than skin a statistically significant and much higher SMBR 1 7 was found for females in the Moscow group versus females in the comparison group 0 6 based on data from Health History Questionnaires When this condition was compared for females within the Moscow group according to degree of exposure to microwaves it was found that the rate was highest for those who had minimum exposure to microwaves Furthermore 7 different cancer sites were involved in the 10 cases making it extremely difficult to attribute any single cause as a principal factor Employee dependents a Mortality The following tables summarize and compare mortality experience of dependents who were known to have lived at embassy posts at any time during the span of the study 1953 to 1976 These tables are limited to principal causes of death although the study provides data on all causes investigated MORTALITY EXPERIENCE-ADULT DEPENDENTS Comparison group Moscow group Cause of death All causes •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Cancer ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Heart ••·-··································-···· Actual Ratic •actual• number expacted Actual number Ratio-actual• expected 0 80 • 75 75 33 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 5 2 15 6 20 MORTALITY EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT CHILDREN Moscow group Cause of death All causes _________________________________________ _ ·Cancer ____________________________________________ _ Accidents _________________________________________ _ Comparison group Actual SMR Actual SMR 8 0 83 38 68 13 1 3 0 66 • 79 • 56 2 2 These data have little statistical significance because of the small numbers involved More difficulty was encountered ascertaining the residence status of dependents than employees because of uncertain ties as to when dependents arrived or left an embassy location This reduced sharply the number available in the data base for mortality analysis b Morbidity Analysis of the frequency of occurrence of any of 44 medical con ditions at any time after arrival of an adu t dependent to an embassy location yielded the following results There were 23 of those medical -conditions for which the rate of occurrence for the adult Moscow Tesident dependents was higher than at comparison posts 20 for which 'it was lower and 1 for which it was the same Within the various medical conditions the differences were not 'held to be statistically significant It was noted that for both the Moscow and comparison groups employee dependents who had never lived at any embassy post experienced lower morbidity ratios ie fewer medical conditions than those who did Another comparison was based on the most often recorded medical complaints by dependent adults after arriving at an embassy post The 20 most frequent complaints among the Moscow resident de pendents all were included among the 24 roost frequently recorded complaints by dependent adults after arriving at a comparison post This high degree of commonality is difficult to reconcile with the •e 'i stence of a significant adverse environmental factor such as microwave exposure The higher frequency of those complaints reported 'by the Moscow group is however suggestive either of more generally adverse living conditions in Moscow or more intensive health morutoring associated with the resident medical officers' awareness -of the microwave irradiation The foregoing findings were subject to critical evaluation by the study team in the course of coming to that assessment The follo wg table presents the results of analysis of the rate of occurrence of 44 medical conditions first observed after a dependent child arrived at an embassy post The Standardized Morbidity Ratios SMBR are compared for the two groups of children those resident in l 1osco v versus the comparison posts 21 -ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS FIRST ENCOUNTERED AFTER ARRIVAL AT AN EMBASSY POST DEPENDENT CHILDREN SMBR Number reported Medical condition Amebiasis ________________________________________ _ Protozoa I intestinal disease __________________________ _ Diarrhea I disease __________________________________ _ ' sf ssimplex ____________________________________ _ Infectious hepatitis _________________________________ _ Mumps ____________ ---------------- -- -- -- ----------_ Dermato phytosis ___________________________________ Helminthiasis ______________________________________ _ Malignant skin neoplasms ___________________________ _ Malignant neoplasms except skin ____________________ _ Benign neoplasms __________________________________ _ Diabetes mel lit us __________________________________ _ Obesity nonendocrine _____________________________ _ Blood diseases _____________________________________ _ Neuro_ses personality disorders ______________________ _ Migraine ______________________ -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- __ --Diseases of nerves and peripheral ganglia ______________ _ Inflammatory eye diseases ___________________________ _ Eye refractive error ________________________________ _ Eye other conditions _______________________________ _ Diseases of ear and mastoid process __________________ _ r1c gs s-e-- i j ________________________ _ Other forms of heart disease Diseases of arteries arterioles capillaries _____________ _ Diseases of veins lymphatitis _______________________ _ Acute respiratory infections except influenza __________ _ Influenza __________ ---- ________________ -----------Pneu mania_ -- __________________ -- -- -- -- -- -- - - -- -- -Bronchitis emphysema asthma ______________________ _ Other diseases of respiratory tract__ __________________ _ Other diseases of respiratory system _________________ _ Diseases of esophagus stomach and duodenum ________ _ Hernia of abdominal cavity __________________________ _ Other diseases of intestine and peritoneum ___________ _ Diseases of liver gall bladder pancreas _______________ _ Diseases of genitourinary system _____________________ _ Complications of pregnancy childbirth and puerperium __ Diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissue _____________ _ Diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue ___________________________________________ _ Nervousness and debility ___________________________ _ Accidents poisonings violence ______________________ _ Accidents external cause ___________________________ _ Moscow Comparison Moscow Comparison 3 2 9 2 18 0 26 6 11 0 1 15 3 18 2 32 2 23 9 12 0 1 18 0 26 14 33 2 I 17 108 24 56 I 0 15 0 12 51 13 15 34 102 8 13 8 0 59 1 3 11 0 13 19 9 I 1 12 61 12 30 0 0 19 0 5 46 5 7 15 51 5 5 9 3 2 39 0 63 23 4 73 23 JO 7 80 I 87 66 20 108 41 1 1 74 2 1 1 2 Und 1 8 1 4 1 4 Und 1 4 90 Und 81 1 8 64 1 5 1 5 1 2 1 1 1 1 89 Und Und I 4 Und 89 I 2 94 72 88 94 82 86 2 I 67 45 84 76 93 1 0 2 5 77 1 0 73 Und 58 88 Und 90 70 1 2 1 2 83 92 1 0 1 1 88 29 Und 62 Und 1 0 72 1 5 99 1 1 1 0 70 1 1 Und 1 2 1 1 92 I I I 3 1 2 54 85 96 63 1 2 1 3 I 3 97 1 1 1 1 Of the 44 conditions analyzed the results for five were considered statistically significant For four of these mumps anemic blood diseases heart disease and respiratory infections the SMBR's were higher for the Moscow than the comparison group For the other diseases of the musculoskeletal system the SMBR was hi 'her for children at comparison posts However for three of the five the SMBR's were highest for children who had never been known to be residents at any embassy post One especially important and unique requirement of the study was analysis of congenital defects occurring in 674 children born after one or both parents arrived at an embassy post Fifty-one of these had congenital anomalies The analysis is contained in the following table 22 CONGENITAL ANOMALIES IN CHILDREN BORN AFTER PARENTS' ARRIVAL AT AN EMBASSY POST Observed number of con enital anomalies in children born after embassy tour Moscow parent Congenital anomaly class All anomalies_________________________________ Sp In a bifida ____________ __ __ __ ____________________ __ vous system_____________________________________ Observed to expected raios Comparison parent Moscow parent Comparison parent 119 2 32 0 9 1 1 l 2 l 0 0 l 2 0 2 4 2 3 0 4 0 3 3 0 l l 4 3 8 4 2 y_ 2 5 01 0 l T -1 7s i·i 6 ----------- ---1 2 S l l Ear________________________________________________ Heart______________________________________________ miUpper t t i i i re alimentary tract ______________________________ Ottier digestive ____________________________________ _ gr frgans_ _____ ________ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ______ __ __ other limb_________________________________________ Skin_______________________________________________ 0 l 5 1 0 1 l 7 l 4 •9 17 percent • 8 percent The table shows a moderately lower rate of occuffence of anomalies of all classes for the Moscow than the comparison group with both groups about at the e ' ected level for the general population Of the13 classes rates were higher in 7 and lower in 6 for the Moscow group CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY TEAM The key conclusions of the team of scientists who conducted this study are as follows 1 Mortality -There is no evidence that the Moscow group has experienced any higher total mortality or for any specific causes of death up to this time It should be noted however that the population was relatively young and it is too early to have been able to detect long-term mortality effects except for those who had served in theearliest period of the study It is reasonable to conclude from the results of the analysis of theexperience of the identified dependents that no differences in mortality were detected between the Moscow and comparison dependent groups of children or adults 2 Morbidity -The study group was found to be subject to a large variety of health problems many of which were serious but to a great degree the risks of developing these problems were shared nearly equally by both groups Only two differences based on the medical record review stood out 1 the Moscow male employees had a threefold higher risk of acquiring protozoa infections between the time of affival at the post and the time of last observation than did the comparison employees and 2 both men and women in the Moscow group were found to have slightly higher frequencies of most of the common kinds of health conditions reported However these conditions represented a very heterogeneous collection and it is difficult to conclude that they could have been related to exposure to microwave radiation since no consistent pattern of increased frequency in the group exposed to other than background microwave radiation could be found 23 A somewhat different indication of the health status of the two employee groups was derived from analysis of the responses to the Health History Questionnaire While many reported problems were similar in both groups there were some noteworthy excesses in the Moscow employee group Both men and women reported more problems with their eyes however most of this increase was due to correctable refractive errors The men reported more problems with psoriasis and women with anemia The Moscow group expecially the men reported a variety of symptoms after their duty tour much more frequently than the comparison group more depression more irritability more difficulty concentrating and more memory loss Many other symptoms were higher in the Moscow group but not to the degree as these four In view of the possibilities which had been publicized of the increased dan er to their health and that of their children it is not at all surprising that the Moscow grol P might have had an increase in symptoms such as those reported However no relationship was found between the occurrence of these'symptoms and exposure to microwaves in fact the four symptoms mentioned earlier which showed the strongest difference between the Moscow and comparison groups were all found to have occurred most frequently in the group with the least exposure to microwaves In spite of the problems encountered in enumerating all dependents the morbidity experience of dependents both adults and children was analyzed using available data from the medical record review and from the Health History Questionnaire No consistent differences were noted among adults taking into account whether or not they had resided at the post at the time of service The children studied had experienced many health problems the vast majority of which were similar in both the Moscow and comparison groups The only problem definitely present to a greater extent in the children who had lived in Moscow compared with those who had lived in one of the comparison posts was the occurrence of mumps which was more than twice as frequent in the Moscow children during the period from the time of arrival at the Embassy until the time of the last observation Congenital anomalies occurring after arrival at the duty posts were studied and although anomalies had occurred no difference could be detected between the two study groups in this regard 3 Overall -To summarize with very few exceptions an exhaustive comparison of the health status of the State and non-State Department employees who had served in Moscow with those who had served in other Eastern European posts during the same period of time revealed no differences in health status as indicated by their mortality experience and a variety of morbidity measures No convincing evidence was discovered that would directly implicate the exposure to microwave radiation experienced by the employees at the Moscow Embassy in the causation of any adverse health effects as of the time of this analysis PUBLIC ISSUES COMMENTS AND CONCLUSIONS These center about the following questions 1 Was the health and safety of U S personnel assigned to the U S Embassy in Moscow in fact harmed by their exposure to microwave radiation during such assignments 24 The four major studies summarized in the preceding sections -extending over a calendar period of about 13 years sought and analyzed all available information in order to answer this question of overriding importance to the employee group and to the Government agencies involved The first two of those studies were exploratory in nature and were conducted under inadequately established laboratory procedures Their findings were variously interpreted by different reviewers Those studies were inconclusive The succeeding studies conducted during the calendar years 1976 78 were conducted with sound scientific and analytical methodology directed toward more definitive goals Those studies indicate that microwave radiation of the nature duration and intensity e tperienced by Moscow Embassy employees and dependents did not causehealth defects detectable either through blood cell analysis morbidity analysis or mortality analysis Questions can and probably will be raised about the adequacy or finality of these findings and conclusions For example whereas the latter studies conclude correctly that malignant neoplasms cancer were less prevalent among the Moscow Embassy personnel e iq 0sed to microwaves than among control groups not so exposed they do not and cannot answer the question as to whether any of those specific incidents were or were not attributable to microwave radiation •At the present time there is no known and proven mechanism by which nonionizing microwave radiation can cause such a biological effect This fact supports the validity of the statistical conclusion which the studies developed But that unans rered question also supports the wisdom of a recommendation contained in the Hopkins Foreign Service Health Status Study that health monitoring of certain portions of the study group continue for a number of years This pertains especially to those assigned at the Moscow Embassy between June 1975 and February 1976 when recorded exposures were at their highest Persons so exposed may have incurred bioeffects with a prolonged latency period which would not manifest ill effects for a number of years thereafter It is urged that the State Department pursue this recommendation 9 for continued monitoring of the health of affected persons and to preserve all existing records of their work and residency locations radiation measurements etc Questions can be raised as to whether health data from the large population of Moscow Embassy employees whose health histories could not be obtained and analyzed would have significantly altered the findings Although there is no basis for believing the results from that group would be significantly different the possibility remains Questions can also be raised concerning the methodology applied to the interpretation of some of the findings of the Hopkins study In particular certain medical conditions which showed a statistically significant higher rate of occurrence in the Moscow group than in the Eastern European comparison embassy group were discounted as of no further importance if it was found that the same condition within the Moscow group occurr d with equal or higher frequency in those persons receiving minimum exposure in Moscow as in those receiving ma ximum exposure In effect this assigns equal weight to comparative ' This recommendation reflects a precautionary attitude rather than one compelled by the facts The population study included a substantial number with health histories extending 15--20 years after initial exposure Furthermore there is no known mechanism by which low-level nonionizing microwave radiation can cause permanent cell damage analogous to the known mechanism for ionizing radiation X-rays and radioactive emissions wherefrom future disease may evolve 25 findings within the Moscow group based on degree of exposure at Moscow to comparative findings of the Moscow group as a whole with the Eastern European group as a whole But the doubtful reliability and accuracy of information as to relative exposure within the Moscow group impairs the validity of this element of the methodology An alternative methodology for further evaluation of medical conditions found to be statistically more prevalent in certain Moscow subgroups than in corresponding Eastern European embassy comparison subgroups avoids that uncertain data base This approach assigns importance to the absence of any pattern of consistency within any of the classes of medical conditions encountered For example it was found that the cancer rate for other than skin cancers for females in the Moscow group was almost three times as high as in the comparison group based on Health History Questionnaires But the 10 Moscow cancer cases were distributed among 7 different types The study reported it difficult to believe that any single environmental factor such as microwave radiation could be the significant factor in so diverse a set of symptoms Relative to the female cancer subgroup it should be noted that the findings based on abstracts from the medical records as opposed to information on the questionnaires showed comparable rates for both skin and other than skin cancers among Moscow and comparison post female employees with no statistically significant difference between those rates In SJ ite of these elements of recognized uncertainty the weight of the findings of those studies supports the conclusion that Government employees did not encounter health hazards traceable to their exposure for various periods to microwave radiation levels ranging from 0 2 to 18 microwatts per square centimeter 2 Does the answer to question No 1 provide useful information as to the nature and level of microwave radiation that should be permitted throughout the public domain of the United States Had the findings and conclusions been opposite to what they were they would have contributed significantly The level of exposure measured at the Moscow Embassy never exceeded about 18 microwatts per square centimeter which is far below the U S voluntary standard for worker exposure 10 000 microwatts or 10 milliwatts per square centimeter There are no mandated standards 10 applicable in the United States for either worker or public exposure Therefore the Johns Hopkins' conclusions from a study in which the subjects were exposed to no more than 18 microwatts per square centimeter contributes little to answering the question as to the level if any for such a standard 3 Did the State Department diligently seek scientifically and medically sound information bearing on the health of Embassy personnel exposed to the microwaves or did it adopt a policy of diversion and evasion to camouflage the true dimensions of the potential health hazard involved This issue has been framed in those terms because the State Department and other Government agencies have been charged in certain media reports with indifference to alleged health hazards and deliberate concealment of such hazards from the public The record reflects that for over a decade from the time of initial discovery in •• See Report on Radiation Health and Safety dated December 1978 printed for the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation for discussion and recommendations relatirul to this subject 26 1953 of microwave radiation at the Moscow Embassy nothing of a medical or scientific nature was done to evaluate the potential health hazard to Embassy employees exposed to this radiation During that period only scant attention was paid by the U S scientific community to Soviet and East European animal experiments suggesting €ffects particularly behavioral effects attributable to microwaves below the so-called thermal level of 10 milliwatts per square centimeter The only linkage generally recognized in the United States involved intensities of exposure above that level which would cause bodily injuries due to overheating Occurrence of cataracts in laboratory ammals exposed to intense microwave fields is an example of such an effect In the mid-1960's a comprehensive survey of such East European experiments was initiated by funding from ARPA It provided a bibliography of such experiments as well as translations and abstracts of many of the reports A definitive program was initiated by the Medical Services Office of the State Department in 1965 to evaluate what was believed by them to be a highly improbable health hazard Its efforts thereafter to resolve this question were pursued through contracts with independent hospital and university-affiliated contractors Parallel with the State Department effort in the mid-1960's was a separate experimental effort by the DOD to evaluate possible behavioral effects of microwave radiation using primates as the subjects In sum a comprehensive effort was initiated once a broader awareness of the possibility of injury had been reco nized 4 Was the State Department justified in with lding information from Moscow Embassy employees for about 23 years 1953 to 1976 11 as to the existence of such radiation Throughout that period the Medical Services Office of the State Department believed that there was no adverse health effects from those low levels of radiation and that knowledge of its existence would unnecessarily add another source of uneasiness or tension to the lives of Moscow Embassy personnel The State Department thus used the analogy of individual physicians withholding medical information from patients when in their judgment the well-bein of the patient was better protected by so doing But this substitut10n of a doctor patient relat10nship for an employer employee relationship is not defensible regardless of the outcome of the studies The employees should have been promptly informed of the situation 5 Were adequate efforts pursu ed by the Department of State to determine thepurpose of the microwave irradiation and to have it stopped Requests to the U S S R to stop the irradiation of the U S Embassy were ignored Such requests by the State Department could not be supported by evidence of health defects incurred nor by arguments as to the potential for such defects because the U S S R was well aware that the maximum levels recorded were hundreds of times less than accepted limits in the United States for worker exposure Exploration of the purp_9se for the irradiation and the nature of any countermeasures by the United States was not included in this study as it has no bearing on the issue of health and safety effects of the radiation actually encountered 11 Althou h the state Department did not Inform Its employees before 1976 information as to the Embassy microwave irradiation did leak and was reported in the media in 1972 _ 0