Depletion of helium reserves threatens to ground NASA shuttle


helium ballonsAt the current pace of usage, there exists a real threat of depletion of current domestic helium supplies. So say managers of our only national helium stockpile near Amarillo Texas. A report from Kim McGuire at the St Louis Dispatch makes clear that this reality concerns more than the just attendees of children's birthday parties and a few Donald Duck impersonators.

Scientist claim that helium reserves could be depleted in as little as ten years, a reality which worries experts in the fields of medicine, microchip manufacture, nuclear science, and Garfield balloons. Helium, which is abundant in our universe yet relatively scarce here on earth, plays a major role in many facets of industrial production. It is reported that dwindling helium supplies have driven helium prices up by as much as 50% over the past twelve months, deeply affecting companies such as Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX). It is also worthy of note that NASA uses massive amounts of helium annually to pressurize fuel tanks for shuttle missions.

Lee Sobotka, a chemistry and physics professor at Washington University stated "...it's incumbent upon us to have a vision, and tell it like it is, (helium is) a resource that is more strictly nonrenewable than either oil or gas."

Presently, efforts are successfully under way to make helium use more efficient and to recapture helium at it's points of use. Helium as an element can be captured as a by product of natural gas extraction but intensity in those efforts needs to be redoubled. Adding to the supply concerns currently faced are the facts that two off shore helium producers have faltered in their efforts to bring helium plants on line, and several domestic producers have shuttered domestic helium plants in recent years.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+8.6015,303.10
NASDAQ-0.283,459.14
S&P 500-0.911,649.60

Last updated: May 25, 2013: 05:40 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

23.53-0.13(-0.55)

Alcoa

8.48-0.06(-0.70)

Apple Inc

445.15+3.01(+0.68)

Google Inc 'A'

873.32-9.47(-1.07)

Bank of America

13.24+0.03(+0.23)

Wal-Mart Stores

77.31+0.98(+1.28)

Exxon Mobil Corp

91.53-0.26(-0.28)

Ford

14.79-0.02(-0.14)

Citigroup

50.52-0.01(-0.02)

IBM

205.72-0.44(-0.21)

Yahoo

26.33+0.31(+1.19)

Starbucks

63.36-0.16(-0.25)

Microsoft

34.269+0.119(+0.35)

Home Depot

78.99+0.08(+0.10)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    WalletPop Headlines

    DailyFinance BlackBerry App

    My Portfolios

    Track your stocks here!

    Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

    BloggingStocks Partners

    More from AOL Money & Finance

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    Page Loaded in 1369474842147 ms.