On the one hand, this anonymity and secrecy is surprising – it seems that Washington should be demonstrating absolute transparency with regard to deployment of elements of its missile defense system in Europe, the issue being extremely sensitive and all half-words giving rise to numerous rumors. On the other hand, it is clear that the Czech would have definitely asked lots of very uncomfortable questions.
Indeed, there are a lot of debates about the expediency of hosting the American radar going on in the Czech Republic. It has long been known – and regularly confirmed by opinion polls – that the overwhelming majority of the population vehemently opposes these plans. Reasons are different, including the unwillingness to spoil relations with Russia, the vulnerable national pride and the increased threat of a terrorist attack. Yet one of the main arguments voiced by opponents of radar deployment is the environmental hazard and the danger it poses to people’s health.
It is no secret that modern radars are a powerful source of electromagnetic emission, which is harmful for people, plants and animals. In today’s life, people constantly come across electromagnetic emission. It is enough to name microwave ovens or mobile phones, whose harmful influence on health is being debated by scientists. To put it simply, a radar is a huge microwave oven that is permanently turned on. These radars emanate electromagnetic rays not only when countering a strike by ballistic missiles, but also during tests, maneuvers, training and carrying out of additional tasks, such as accompanying space garbage or space shuttles.
Deploying a radar in the Czech Republic, Americans announced that its main goal will be to monitor hypothetical missile launches from Iran, which means that its range will be up to 5,000 km. At the same time, experts are positive that the main aim of the U.S. third launch area that is being set up is to monitor missile activities on Russian territory. This means that Washington will later need to increase the radar’s range and, consequently, the strength of its emission. Hopefully, you can guess the implications.
Warning radars with a 500-600 km range have an impulse power of about 0.4-0.5 MW and an intake power of up to 1 MW. Figures for radars with a 2,500-4,000 km range are 1.2-1.5 MW and 90-100 MW respectively. To ensure that targets are detected at a greater range, the probing impulse should be at least 3.5-5.0 MW or even more. It is easy to understand how much intake power such a radar will require.
Understanding the serious influence radars have on the environment, the military have always tried to deploye them far from densely populated areas. Such places can be easily found on the huge expanses of the former Soviet Union or the United States. Moreover, the Soviet Union built huge protective metal screens at a certain distance from radars to further protect people from the emissions.
The Czech Republic is situated in the very heart of the densely populated Europe. The proposed site for the American radar is less than 100 km off Prague. The Czechs rightly believe that Americans will be less worried about the protection of the local population and the burden will have to be carried by the local authorities. Given the country’s infrastructure and the density of its population, the cost of building a screen around the radar will be five or six times higher than that of the Soviet ones. Of course, the radar’s intake power is not to be forgotten either. It is usually comparable to electricity consumption of a medium-sized city. The Soviet Union, for example, spent up to $500 mln a year on electricity consumed by its radars.
Remarkably, the West has shown the same double standards on the issue of radar deployment that have been so typical of its policies towards Russia. One of the arguments in favor of shutting down the Russian radar in the Latvian city of Skrunda in the past was the threat it posed to the environment. The official Riga authorities cited data proving an increase in cases of cancer, deaths of animals and trees.
Recently, as if on order, there have emerged numerous reports about the harm caused by the radar in Gabala, Azerbaijan, leased by Russia. They say there are diseases among the population, mutant animals are being born, etc. Nothing, however, is being said about the fact that the Gabala radar is situated 1,000 m above the sea and all villages situated within its monitoring distance are additionally protected by the terrain and lie within the radar’s geometrical shadow. The direction of electromagnetic emission rules out the possibility of it reaching populated areas. Moreover, the radar in Azerbaijan works in the meter range, which, according to experts, means that it does not produce dangerous for health microwave-frequency rays in the centimeter range like the U.S. radars do.
To be impartial, it should be noted that Azerbaijanian environmentalists are voicing concerns about another two radars in the country that have been built and are controlled by Americans. Unlike Russians, who regularly release information on emission from the Gabala radar, the U.S. representatives do not share these data with the Azerbaijanian authorites, while the country’s Environment Ministry, according to its head, does not have access to these facilities.
People in the Czech Republic fear their situation will be similar. Those worried most are people living in direct proximity to the proposed site of the radar. Notably, people in the village of Trokavec, which lies just two kilometers off the testing ground where the radar can be deployed, are regularly staging protests, demanding that the authorities hold a referendum on such a pivotal issue. They are extremely worried that neither the United States nor Prague has released any information on the radar’s emissions. At the same time, they understand only too well that even if this information surfaces later and it turns out that there is a danger for their health after all, no one will change anything, while they will have to leave their homes for good.
No one wants to sit too close to a huge microwave oven, after all.
