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Editor’s note:
Dr. Kanal kindly granted permission to print his
comments which were posted earlier this year on the
MR Technologist list serve. The Editor thanks Denise
Davis B.S., R.T. (R)(MR), member of the Signals
Newsletter Committee, for facilitating the
permission request. A quick search of the internet
will yield more about the Helium shortage and the
1996 Helium Privatization Act. Be sure to subscribe
to the MR Technologist list serve to stay connected
with the on-going conversation. |
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“The following apply to helium
stores on this planet:
1) Most do not recognize the seriousness of the shortage of this
element (on this planet) as a resource for human access/use.
2) Helium is not a (readily) renewable resource - that is to say, it
is formed predominantly as a byproduct of fusion, which is what
occurs in the sun. It can be found in pockets in the earth (as a
by-product of natural radioactive decay of our own earth's elements)
that we had originally mined as a part of routine petrochemical
mining purposes. Creating helium by fusion also occurs - albeit
fleetingly - in the detonation of hydrogen bombs (which generate
their energy by fusion - the same process used in the energy release
of the sun and all such young stars). This is not a method of
renewal currently being considered by mankind as a practical one...
3) The US quite some time ago thought that with lighter than air
dirigibles, etc. we would have tremendous military (of course - what
else) need for this element. Therefore, starting in the 1920's, we
stockpiled what now amounts to around a billion cubic meters of
helium. This single stockpile represents roughly 1/2 (yes, you heard
that correctly: 50%) of the world's store of helium. It is stored in
what is referred to as the helium capital of the world, an immense
collection of underground mines and vats that is "centered" around
30 miles north of Amarillo, Texas but actually extends for over 200
miles all the way to Kansas. Status quo was maintained until 1996
when the US decided (for further information on this, look up the
Helium Privatization Act) that they no longer needed it and wanted
to get rid of it, so they mandated (yes, you heard that correctly)
that the entire stockpile be sold off by 2015, with the only real
objective being making up the cost to the US government of creating
and maintaining the original stockpile in the first place. In fact,
it mandated that the same amount be sold off each year - regardless
of demand! This caused the price of helium to drop through the
floor, and it became available to all dirt cheap.
4) Now that we (i.e., society) are utilizing helium not for
warships/dirigibles but for so many other predominantly medical and
research purposes, our helium stores have shrunk worldwide to the
point that those in the know - and even others not directly affected
by the looming shortages - are absolutely aware of the critical
nature of this pending shortage. However, it has not at all yet
reached the point where it is "common knowledge" to the average
citizen. The average American is not aware at this time about the
above facts, nor that the supplies are now dwindling to the point
where the LITERAL end of their terrestrial availability is in site
(within roughly 100 years) at present utilization rates, and
certainly has no idea how it might impact their everyday lives as
just, well, citizens.
5) They - or certainly their children - most definitely will be
forced to realize it.
6) That having been said, we are looking realistically at a 25 to 30
years of supply for American stockpiles (which, as I noted above,
are by far the largest in the world). It is absolutely realistic -
and indeed almost unavoidable - to expect that at current rates,
your grandchildren will not have ready access to helium filled
balloons for their parties, as the expense at that time would be
inappropriate for such relatively trivial applications.
7) MRI now numbers among the main applications in the world for
helium utilization! The other major uses of helium today include
cleaning rocket fuel tanks (actually, one of the biggest
applications of helium today), lighter-than-air airships, and as
part of the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen breathed by divers, among
other uses.” |
