The Moscow Signal and health

A health problem?

In 1953, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was transmitting microwaves to its embassy in Moscow. However, it was not until the early 1960s that there was enough information to confirm that these signals were carefully designed and probably had a purpose.¹ At this time, research from Eastern Europe on the biological effects of microwaves that did not cause heating also became known in the West. This raised the question of whether the Moscow signal could have a negative impact on health.

Health examinations of embassy staff and their dependants began in 1965 under the pretext of an alleged virus outbreak in Moscow, as Soviet Union actions were to be kept secret. The health examinations, named the Viral Study, were conducted without a control group and on too small a sample size to provide statistically reliable results. In some cases, the health assessments were not even performed by doctors. The result was that 'no known patterns of disease or recurring problems were detected'.²

The Embassy Crisis

When it became public in 1976, the Moscow Signal was renamed the Embassy Crisis. Under the leadership of Professor Abraham Lilienfeld, a new health study of embassy staff and their families was launched. Conducted under time pressure, the study faced difficulties in gathering material due to the partly secret nature of the staff's work.

At the press conference where the results were presented, Professor Lilienfeld stated that there was no compelling evidence linking microwave radiation to any adverse health effects. The number of cancer cases was normal, as were cases of brain disease and loss of vision, the main problems the study had sought to investigate.³

Effects on health

A health questionnaire was also included in the study, and the results showed statistically significant findings for depression (men), irritability (men), concentration difficulties (men and women), memory loss (men) and other complaints (men).⁴ However, a later review of the collected material shows a significantly worse situation for embassy staff.

Ill health increased with the number of years of service. The longer the time spent at the embassy, the more common it was to suffer from skin and lymphatic diseases, back problems, arthritis/rheumatism, vaginal discharge, ear problems and blood vessel problems.⁵ Overall, the number of deaths was not higher than expected; however, the proportion of cancer-related deaths was twice as high as in the US population during the same period. The state of health at the embassy in Moscow was significantly worse than at the other embassies in the Eastern Bloc used for comparison.⁶

Exposure

The Soviet limits that applied to working life at that time were only exceeded during the 1975–76 period. The initial Soviet limits for the general public were set at 10,000 microwatts per square metre (µW/m²) in 1970. These were increased to 50,000 µW/m² in 1978 and again in 1996 to reach the current limit of 100,000 µW/m².⁷ The Soviet exposure limits for the general public were exceeded continuously until July 1976, which is the last date for which measurements are available. However, the irradiation did not appear to stop until 1979.⁸

The current limits for the United States and those recommended within the EU were never exceeded.

The Moscow signal9
	Intensity µW/m2	Duration hours a day
1953 to May/June 1975	up to 50,000	up to 8
May/June 1975 to Feb 1976	up to 130,000	18-20
Feb 1976 to Apr 1976	up to 50,000	10-20
Apr 1976 to Jul 1976	up to 20,000	10-20

The frequencies ranged from 500 to 9,000 megahertz (MHz), which are currently used for radar, mobile data, and telephony. The EU's recommended exposure limits for these frequencies are 2,500,000–10,000,000 microwatts per square metre (µW/m²), without time limit.