Epidemiologic data on American personnel in the Moscow embassy.

I had prepared a long paper to present, but after yesterday's discussions, it was evident that there is so much misunderstanding about the basic facts that I shall deviate from my prepared text and present a historical background to the so-called "Moscow" situation to put the problems in context and in perspective as to what actually occurred. The United States started relations with the Soviets during World War II and established a Lend Lease mission in Moscow. This mission was housed in a building on the Moscow River close by the Kremlin, right next door to the British and other embassies. When finally full diplomatic relations were established, an embassy replaced the mission. The ambassador always lived in a house many miles from the chancery buildings and most of the people who worked in the chancery lived in apartment houses from two to four miles from the chancery. There were a variety of conditions under which people lived with respect to exposure to any environmental contaminant. In 1952 the Soviet government asked the United States to move its chancery building from the neighborhood of the Kremlin to Chekovsky Street, several miles away. An empty apartment house had been reconstructed for the use of the American chancery. The Soviets had an opportunity to rebuild this building from the inside, but that is part of another story. Periodic electronic surveillance of all of the offices in the chancery was carried out. In the course of these routine electronic sweeps, in 1953, a very peculiar signal was picked up. At first this signal was intermittently