Helium shortage hits home

Say helium, and the first thing people think of is the gas in balloons that makes you sound like a chipmunk. But helium is used in a wide variety of applications, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, cryogenics, welding, deep-sea diving, and medical research—not to mention inflating the Goodyear Blimp.

Helium is produced by natural radioactive decay, and is extracted as a byproduct of natural gas. It’s the second most abundant element in the universe, but most of it bleeds off into space, so is difficult to trap and store. It’s also one of the coldest substances known, which makes it hard to store.

Over the past few years, there has been increasing concern around the world about the limited supply of helium. While production has remained relatively constant, demand has skyrocketed, and the shortage has now reached serious proportions. The Department of the Interior has added helium to the list of 35 mineral commodities considered critical to the economic and national security of the U.S.

The declining supply of helium appeared on the public’s radar in May, when Party City announced the closure of 45 stores, as opposed to the 10 to 15 that normally close each year. Their website states that a small number of their stores have been impacted by the global helium shortage, and that they’ve signed an agreement for a new source of helium that will address the shortage for the next two and a half years.

Locally, companies which use helium have become well-versed in the details of the shortage, and how it might affect their businesses.

Helium is used to cool the superconductive magnets in MRI machines. Michael Lehman, Imaging Director at Northwest Specialty Hospital in Post Falls, says they haven’t experienced any negative effects from the shortage. The gas circulates in a closed system, so there’s no bleed-off.

“It just stays contained,” Lehman said. “Maybe once every two years, (Hitachi) comes out with a canister and they might top it off, but they never have to replace it.”

Lehman said that Hitachi, the company that manufactures the MRI machine, doesn’t foresee a problem maintaining it in the future.

On the other hand, Party 101, a locally owned party goods store in the Prairie Shopping Center in Hayden, is limiting the number of balloons each person can purchase, in an attempt to be fair to all of their customers. Balloon sales account for approximately 50 percent of their business.

“The only reason we have helium right now is because we did put a limit on it,” said owner Anna Larsen. “We could easily do as many balloons as people want, but then we’d run out.”

And with graduation being their biggest season of the year, that would be a serious problem.

“How do you get through graduation with no helium?” asked Jeremy, Anna’s husband and co-owner of the store.

This year, they’ve only been able to obtain about half the amount of helium they’ve ordered in the past.

“Essentially, we have to run our business with one arm tied behind our backs, with no idea when it’s going to get better or if it’s going to get better,” said Anna.

But even with the shortage, they’re still busy.

Being locally owned, they don’t have the buying power that the chains enjoy. They’re thankful they have a good relationship with their supplier, since some companies have stopped distributing helium to party supply stores. And as supplies go down, the price keeps going up.

There are other options, such as filling balloons with air instead of helium, which can be used in table-top centerpieces and arches. They require a little more planning, but will still add an element of fun to a party. And Party 101 carries a wide range of paper and party supplies to make that event even more special.

Unfortunately, there really isn’t a viable substitute for helium. There are only two elements lighter than air: hydrogen and helium. And hydrogen is flammable.

“(Hydrogen) is not good next to birthday candles,” Anna pointed out.

Remember the Hindenburg? The widely-accepted explanation for the explosion that destroyed the airship was that the hydrogen used to inflate it ignited and burned in seconds.

Internationally, companies are beginning to explore the possibility of producing helium, in an effort to address the growing demand. But until that happens, while it appears that you’ll still be able to have an MRI, you might want to rethink the huge bouquet of balloons floating over your child’s birthday party, and order an air-filled balloon arch instead.