U.S. policy may lead to growing global shortage of helium

Image: Center of helium activity in the U.S. // Source: blm.gov

Submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - May 1st, 2013

Helium is an essential resource in technologies such as medical imaging, rocket engines, and surveillance devices. In response to the element’s scarcity, the United States has been stockpiling helium since the 1960s in a National Helium Reserve called the Bush Dome, a deep underground reservoir outside of Amarillo, Texas. In 1996 the Helium Privatization Act mandated that the Department of the Interior sell off all the stockpiled helium by 2015.

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