Posted on 06/21/2012 8:49:19 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
Every child who visited Elizabeth House Flowers on South Boulevard used to walk out toting a free balloon. But a long-running global helium shortage means the company – along with other small businesses in Charlotte and around the country – must conserve resources and even turn away customers. At Elizabeth House, free balloons are now out of the question. Helium, a natural resource, is usually harvested from natural gas reserves. The shortage, which has dragged on for a year and won’t end for months, is a simple case of demand outweighing supply, said Joe Peterson, assistant field manager of helium resources at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. In Europe, a sluggish economy is producing less natural gas, he said, and that means helium production is also down. “There have been and there will be a lot of party balloon-type stores that will be impacted by the current shortage,” Peterson said. At Todd’s Flowers on Central Avenue, for instance, the florist’s helium tanks haven’t been filled since November. Without helium, the florist had to turn down about 25 balloon bouquet orders for Valentine’s Day, account manager Lindsey Ward said. Helium, a finite resource, does a lot more than inflate balloons. It’s also used in MRI procedures, fiber-optic cables, welding procedures and lab research, and it often has no substitute. Pennsylvania-based Airgas, which controls 22 percent of the U.S. market of helium and supplies many Charlotte companies, has had to prioritize its customers, spokesman Doug Sherman said. Airgas cut off customers without contracts, and even those with contracts aren’t guaranteed their full supply, he said. “Believe me, our business is moving gases,” he said. “We’d be selling it if we had it.” Carolinas HealthCare System hospitals haven’t had any supply problems, spokesman Kevin McCarthy said. “There are a couple of grades of helium, and the grade we get is a medical grade,” he said. “Our supplier has been able to meet all our medical-grade helium needs.” Likewise, Harris Teeter grocery stores have been unaffected. The chain continues to give free balloons to children who visit the store, said Catherine Reuhl, communication manager. And Balloon and Party Service in uptown Charlotte survives thanks to its helium provider, Charlotte-based Little Balloon Co. “If it wasn’t for him, we’d probably be out of business,” General Manager Carolyn Mason said. Mason said helium prices have jumped more than 25 percent since 2012 began, from $90 to $115 a tank. The shortage, she said, has necessitated price increases. “We tried not to go up that much,” she said. “But yes, we have to charge more.” Though helium is a nonrenewable resource, Peterson said it won’t run out soon. “For more than 50, 75, 100 years, there will be helium available,” he said. A Wyoming-based plant slated to open in December is expected to ease the current shortage, he said. In the meantime, conservation is key. “Now is the perfect time to begin conservation measures such as recovering helium from MRI machines,” he said. “In applications where the helium is used as a gas and it goes to the atmosphere, there has been some talk of being able to capture that gas and recycle it.”
Helium is also non reactive. Hydrogen escapes easier than helium but much of it is bound in other molecules.
Helium most likely is the result of alpha particle emmissions from radioactive decay and accumulates as a gas in natural gas reservoirs. That statement is without support and just my guessing.
“Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.”
-Frank Zappa
Helium....a government controlled commodity...
Imagine the government creating a shortage of a commodity....
Boy, nothing gets by these guys, I tellya, NOTHING !
And ... why is there such a position as "assistant field manager of helium resources", anyway?
Also used to cool superconducting magnets in MRI machines.
“It’s too valuable to be wasted in balloons”
I agree. As stated it is a non-renewable resource. It has effected the welding industry as well.
That answers my question. I wondered why would there be a shortage of helium with all the natural gas production going on.
Put them in charge of the Mojave Desert and in a few years we’ll have to import sand.
“Put them in charge of the Mojave Desert and in a few years we’ll have to import sand.”
Too late!
They already killed a 500MW solar power plant there....cuz it might upset the tortise..
Actually, 500MW seemed too much like progress to the team focused on population control and killing industry.
Or to look a little further out: "Just like many resources, China is willing to pay more. This creates the economic incentive for producers to create more."
You are correct, in a free market. The Federal Government controls how much is allowed in this case.
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