National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979 (1979)

178 to the originating countries over the years. During 1979, more than 7 million feet are being shipped back to West Germany alone. At present, it is the American cultural heritage that is the focus of our presentation program. In selecting materials for preservation, we consider its physical condition and at the same time try to fill crucial gaps in our film holdings. Through the American Flm Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts, the work is coordinated Avith the preservation work of the Museum of INIodern Art, the George Eastman House, and a few other archives, to avoid duplication of effort. To date, we have not had an accident in our nitrate preservation activities. All nitrate film is stored in specially constructed facilities, which, of course, we have been hearing about today, at Suitland, ]\Id. However, most of it is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The Suitland facility, as was pointed out earlier, includes 27 vaults in which we store a capacity of about 900 cans of film. At Wright-Patterson, however, we have 99 vaults, each capable of storing over 1,000 cans. Film arriving at Suitland or Wright-Patterson is inspected at once. Film showing serious deterioration is removed and destroyed. Deterioration can be clearly observed in a number of stages. The film becomes discolored and grows tacky ; slight bubbles appear on the film ; then it begins to ooze a froth-like substance ; and finally it turns to a rustlike powder, at which stage, as has been pointed out here, general literature suggests it combusts at 106° in tests that have been made in the past. Elimination long before this stage is, of course, essential. At both Suitland and Wright-Patterson, cans are opened twice a year and examined for deterioration. Temperature and humidity in all vaults are monitored, and sprinkler systems and fire doors are regularly inspected. With proper storage conditions, deterioration is slow. "Wlien nitrate is in good condition, as was suggested earlier, ignition or flash point is somewhere between 300° and 356°. Conversion of the film is complicated. Often, the first safety copy we make may be the only known copy. Therefore, it should not be used as a viewing copy. Instead, it serves to generate a duplicate negative from which a viewing copy can be made. Meanwhile, the nitrate maternal must be held until the first safety copy has been carefully inspected for quality. Work with nitrate is highly specialized. Film shrinks over the years, and our laboratory has had to develop equipment to accommodate various kinds and degrees of distortion. A few small commercial laboratories still handle nitrate and are available for supplementary work when the problems are routine. But their quality is not always uniform, and the use of such laboratories involves shipping problems. The National Archives has also at times assisted us in the cooperative spirit that has marked our relations in a number of mattere involving motion picture film as well as other material. But, in general, wo feel we must continue to be largely dependent on our own facilities. Our plans call for reestablishing a laboratory at Wright -Patterson Air Force Base. Its location close to the principal nitrate vaults will eliminate much of the nitrate transport that has been necessary during