AMARILLO, Texas — One chain of party-supply stores in Texas and Oklahoma was forced to make a cut worthy of Scrooge: no more balloons donated to charity events.
A global helium shortage has turned the second-most abundant element in the universe (after hydrogen) into a sought-after scarcity, disrupting its use in everything from party balloons and holiday parade floats to MRI machines and scientific research.
In years past, there have been periodic shortages of helium, but physicists, industry experts and federal officials said that this year’s shortage had been one of the worst because of its duration and scale.
The shortage is the result of a complex interplay between commercial gas companies and the federal government, which maintains an underground helium reserve northwest of downtown Amarillo that produces roughly 30 percent of the world’s helium.
Experts say the shortage has many causes. Because helium is a byproduct of natural-gas extraction, a drop in natural-gas prices has reduced the financial incentives for many overseascompanies to produce helium. In addition, suppliers’ ability to meet the growing demand for helium has been strained by production problems around the world.
Business, Pages 60 on 12/23/2012