funny sounds no more

helium shortage, its an old article but the situation hasn't changed much, several suppliers have it posted on their sites. below is a copy of the article if the link doesn't work. -cheers



Helium shortage grips suppliers across Texas, country
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11/06/2006

AMARILLO — The second-most abundant element in the universe is suddenly getting harder and harder to find. Party stores and florist shops grounded in the balloon business are caught in a helium shortage gripping suppliers across the country and in Texas, where one-third of the world’s helium production is overseen.

Supply of the noble gas — second only to hydrogen in the universe but rare on Earth in terms of quantity — has depleted while production from two large international sites is temporarily down.

Not helping matters is scheduled maintenance at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s National Helium Reserve complex in Amarillo, which will curtail production for 10 days starting Wednesday.

“We’re so close to the edge now, and every molecule counts,” said Leslie Theiss, manager of agency’s field office in Amarillo. “We’re walking the tightrope right now.”
Businesses that depend on helium have met with shortages from suppliers. In downtown Houston, American Balloon and Novelty Co. owner Deborah Muse said there have been times when she couldn’t get helium for weeks.

Mike Havard, co-owner of Havard Welding in Galena Park, said he’s kept his customers supplied but acknowledged that demand is heavy.

“There is a shortage. There is some concern of allocation,” said Havard.

Scientists and industry officials say the shortages should be resolved soon. There’s another domestic source is Exxon Mobil’s plant in Wyoming. Helium also is being captured at massive natural gas liquefaction plants being built around the world.

But in about 20 years, experts say most of the federal government’s helium reserve should be depleted.

Near Amarillo, which prides itself as the “Helium Capital of the World,” the government began using old gas fields in 1960 to create a reserve.

But after helium storage racked up $1.4 billion in intragovernmental debt, Congress passed a 1996 privatization bill that called for steady liquidation of the reserve through 2015. Theiss said it probably will take until the mid-2020s to complete the liquidation.

Helium now appears to be a finite resource that could soon disappear in Amarillo. The reserve is supposed to keep 600 million cubic feet, but workers at the facility are skeptical that will happen.

“Our equipment is designed to produce 6.1 million cubic feet per day, and we’ve been pretty successful at getting that done,” said Theiss. “But demand is outstripping the market right now.”
Helium is produced by radioactive decay of elements such as thorium or uranium.
Robert Park, a University of Maryland physics professor and officer of the American Physical Society, worries that helium will one day be scarce at a time when mankind really needs it.
“Nothing is really being done to save helium from being lost forever,” Park said.

©Laredo Morning Times 2007


ps: there is this as well