For nearly 100 years, the U.S. government has been the world’s largest supplier of helium.1 That’s about to change now that the federal helium reserve has been sold to the highest bidder, industrial gas company Messer. But with helium already in short supply, the sale has alarmed the health care industry, which fears the shortage could become worse.
It’s not just a matter of party balloons going flat. Helium is the coldest element on Earth and is necessary to keep most magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines cool.No helium – up to 1,800 liters in many cases, must be constantly replenished2 -Many MRI machines will cease to operate, and so will the potentially life-saving images they provide.
The Cliffside Natural Gas Plant is located on a little more than 8 acres near Amarillo, Texas.3 The facility, currently overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, accounts for 30% of U.S. helium supply and 9% of global supply.4 Helium is found approximately 3,000 feet underground in natural geological formations called helium reservoirs.
Why is the United States selling its federal helium stockpile?
The reservoir, also known as the Bush Dome, stores up to 44 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of helium, but at the time of the sale, the General Services Administration said it was estimated to contain “approximately 4 Bcf of proven and future federal helium.” . owned helium (natural and reserves), approximately 2 Bcf of private helium, and approximately 60 Bcf of federally owned natural gas. “5
Authorized the sale of federal helium reserves in 1996 to assist in reducing the national debt. According to the National Academies Press:6
“Helium has long been the subject of public policy deliberation and regulation, primarily because of its many strategic uses and unusual sources – it is a derivative of natural gas and its market has several unusual characteristics.
Shortly after the source of helium was discovered at the turn of the last century, the U.S. government recognized its potential importance to the national interest and placed its production and supply under strict government control.
In the 1960s, helium’s strategic value in the Cold War was reflected in policies that resulted in the federal government amassing large helium reserves… The Helium Privatization Act of 1996 (Act 12 of 1996)… provided that essentially all The helium accumulated from these early policies will be sold by 2015 at a price sufficient to repay the federal government’s expenses related to the helium program. “
Pricing details in the law stipulate that the sales price of Busch Dome helium should increase with the rate of inflation, rather than market prices. But demand for helium soon soared, not just for health care but also for making semiconductors used in smartphones, cars and more. According to Texas Monthly, this triggered a helium shortage:7
“As this and other helium-consuming technologies advanced, demand for natural gas skyrocketed, and prices elsewhere besides Cliffside soared. As a result, a handful of companies were severely undervalued by buying from the government. of helium and resold it at a huge profit. By April 2017, Bush Dome’s reserves had dropped from about 30 billion cubic feet to 7.6 billion cubic feet.
Bo Sears, author of “Helium: The Lost Element” and president of mineral exploration company Helix Exploration, said the cheap supply also hinders companies from finding new sources of natural gas. “It’s this pricing formula that’s causing all the shortages we’re seeing today,” he said [said]”.
The Helium Regulation Act of 2013 addressed the pricing issue so helium would be sold to the highest bidder.8 Since then, Busch Dome has auctioned a certain percentage of helium every year, and the last batch of helium reserves was sold on January 25, 2024.9
Is helium supply dwindling?
Now that U.S. stockpiles of helium have been sold, concerns about further supply shortages have surfaced. “The sale of the reserve to a private party, as required by congressional law, is not expected to meaningfully change the supply of helium,” a U.S. Interior Department spokesman said in an email to NBC News.10
But Soumi Saha, senior vice president of government affairs at Premier Inc., which connects helium suppliers with U.S. hospitals, told NBC News, “… [W]We are highlighting this shortage. From a healthcare perspective, MRI machines are the first priority. “11 As the second most abundant element in the universe, helium is surprisingly rare on Earth. According to the American Chemical Society (ACS):12
“On Earth, most helium is the radioactive decay product of uranium and thorium. It is found under the Earth’s crust along with other natural gases. Commercial helium is extracted from natural gas when the helium concentration is above 0.3%.
The United States, Qatar and Algeria hold the world’s major helium reserves, with the United States, Russia and Algeria being the largest suppliers. In the United States, helium is found primarily in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas. Uncertainty about how helium will be allocated and priced in the private market is a concern, especially for scientific researchers who use small amounts of helium. “
ACS describes helium as an “endangered element” because it is the only element that cannot be recycled. When helium is released, it rises until it reaches space, so “recycling of helium in the atmosphere is almost impossible.”13 Evaporated liquid helium can be captured and recycled, but recycling infrastructure in the United States is limited.14 Texas Monthly explains:15
“Helium is light and is not affected by Earth’s gravity; without rocks or human ingenuity, it would escape our atmosphere and go into space. We have no way to artificially create it, and its natural production is a by-product of the Earth. Radioactive decay of elements such as uranium and thorium deep in the Earth’s crust takes hundreds of millions of years.”
3 out of 5 helium suppliers are implementing rationing
According to NBC News, three of the five helium suppliers in the United States have begun rationing helium so that “life-and-death uses such as MRI machines” are prioritized over parades and party balloons. Scientists who conduct research using magnetic imaging are already feeling the pinch, with some helium suppliers cutting off their allocations. Other specialized scanners may also be affected. According to NBC News:16
“For example, the University of California has a powerful helium magnetoencephalography (MEG) scanner that doctors use to plan pediatric brain surgeries. Statewide, [University of California’s chief procurement officer Paul] Williams said there are only two of these scanners.
“If the helium is depleted, it will take weeks to recool, delaying surgery or, in some cases, forcing surgeons to operate without a detailed map of the brain,” he said, adding that the brain Magnetography scanners have narrowly avoided downtime dozens of times. past 10 years. “
Other obstacles, including geopolitical factors, transportation and supply chain issues,number 17 There are also many. Additionally, liquid helium evaporates after 35 to 48 days, which is a serious problem when helium must be sourced from outside the United States or Canada.18
“Closing the U.S. helium stockpile will force us to increase our reliance on foreign sources such as Qatar and Russia,” Saha told NBC News. “Given the ongoing geopolitical concerns and tensions and shipping delays in these regions, this will increase concerns about Concerns over potential shortages in the continental United States.”19
MRI machines rely on helium for cooling
Traditional MRI machines rely on extreme cold to keep the magnetic flow superconducting.20 LBN Medical, a distributor of medical imaging equipment, explains, “Superconductivity is a physical effect that occurs when different materials are exposed to extremely low temperatures. It allows electric current to flow through electrical conductors without creating resistance, resulting in zero power loss.”twenty one
Helium does the job, cooling the MRI machine’s superconducting magnet to -269 degrees Celsius. LBN Medical states:twenty two
“In order to function, MRI scanners need a coolant that makes the magnetic coils in the scanner superconducting. This allows electric current to flow through the low-resistance coils, allowing the creation of high-strength magnetic fields… Liquid helium is the perfect element — —cold enough to provide the levels of superconductivity needed in MRI scanners.”
Unfortunately, helium is not only affected by supply issues but also by price fluctuations. “The cost of helium has increased by 250% in the past five years, making scientific research more expensive. The helium market is often subject to price shocks. In 2017, the blockade of Qatar suddenly wiped 30% of the global helium supply from the market.” , causing a temporary spike in prices,” ACS reported.twenty three
Janie Chermak, an economist at the University of New Mexico, told Science magazine that previously reserves from the federal helium stockpile might be released to help buffer such market turbulence, so its sale could add more “market uncertainty and volatility.”twenty four It could also lead to supply disruptions or complete shutdowns when reserves change hands. Science reporting:25
“Imminent issues there include a maintenance backlog and the need for the new owner to secure rights-of-way for 680 kilometers of pipeline, which will not be automatically transferred.
There is also the issue of negotiating a new contract with the Cliffside Helium Enrichment Unit, a privately owned facility required to process helium at the reserve. For these reasons, industrial gas company Air Products filed a lawsuit against the government in September, arguing that the sale was illegal. “
Anticipating a future in which helium may no longer be freely available, MRI manufacturers have introduced machines that use less helium (only 1 to 7 liters) and no helium at all. Still, many hospitals are reluctant to upgrade their equipment, including expensive MRI machines that can last decades.26
Furthermore, it’s not just MRI machines that rely on helium. Helium is also used in the manufacture of nuclear reactors and rockets, as well as fiber optics and semiconductors, which is why running out of it has global consequences.
While scientists explore alternatives to hydrogen in many applications, ACS suggests that to conserve helium, chemists can work to increase recycling infrastructure and individuals can stop purchasing helium balloons.27