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Clearing the air in the National Archives

Broadcast Date: Sept. 24, 1986

Preserving film for future generations is tricky work, and poor air quality certainly doesn't help matters. Workers at the National Archives of Canada at Tunney's Pasture in Ottawa say they've been complaining about bad air for years, but nothing has been done. Fatigue and irritated eyes are commonplace. "We're at our wits' end," says archivist Bill O'Farrell. As we see in this 1986 clip, the department of public works agrees there's a problem, but the suggestion of yet another study satisfies no one.

Clearing the air in the National Archives

• Bill O'Farrell, seen in this clip discussing the poor air quality, is one of Canada's masters of film preservation. Longtime head of film preservation at the National Archives of Canada, O'Farrell worked his way up from film vault technician to become an internationally renowned expert in audiovisual conservation.

• In 1995, O'Farrell pulled an infamous prank on a CBC Radio call-in show. You can hear it in the CBC Digital Archivs clip Remembering Bill O'Farrell.

• Asbestos insulation has been linked to cancer and lung disease. Learn more about it in the topic Asbestos: Magic Mineral or Deadly Dust?.

Clearing the air in the National Archives

Medium: Television

Program: CBC Television News

Broadcast Date: Sept. 24, 1986

Guest(s): Bill O'Farrell, David Patton

Reporter: Becky Reiner

Duration: 1:50

Last updated:
Sept. 12, 2008