By Kurt Woock
Deep underground in the Texas panhandle lie billions of cubic feet of helium. The site, called the Bush Dome Reservoir, holds nearly a third of the world’s current helium supply, which translates to half of the United States’ supply; the gas is used in multiple high-tech fields, including health care. In particular, the cryogenic attributes of helium make it ideal for cooling MRI magnets. The Bureau of Land Management manages the reserve, which connects to privately owned refineries spread throughout neighboring states. But, in accordance with a 1996 law, the reserve will shut down later this year unless further legislation is passed.
“The issue of primary importance for the medical industry is maintenance of supply,” said Brian Connell, director of government relations for the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), which released a statement applauding a bill that recently passed the House Committee on Natural Resources that would keep the reserve open. Connell said eventually private solutions will be able to address supply issues as well as how to consume helium more efficiently and identify technological alternatives. But, for now, the government’s supply is simply too large to close overnight. “We’re very concerned about a world where you cut off 50% of domestic supply,” he said. The resulting scenario would be unstable, with “manufacturers not knowing how they would get their next batch of helium,” he said. According to Connell, “We’re already in a world where there’s not enough helium to fill every MRI machine to the top. Having the reserve shut off with helium still in the ground doesn’t make sense.” Currently, health technologies use about 20% of annual helium production.
The House bill, H.R. 527, contains three major sections. First, it keeps the reserve open and designates how it will be distributed. Second, it identifies a moment in the future—when 3 billion cubic feet of helium remain—at which point commercial sales will end and the remaining helium is saved for security and scientific needs. Third, it requires the government to conduct a national helium assessment.
The division of labor whereby the government manages storage and private companies (currently four) process it for end users has been in place since helium was first used by industry in the 1950s. Helium, though the second most abundant element in the universe, is difficult to handle. It is usually obtained as a by-product of natural gas, and it can take 2 months to process the gas into something usable. Disruptions at other helium facilities in the world have already rendered helium supplies unstable. If half of the United States’ supply were to suddenly go offline, the supply chain would be unable to absorb the loss.
Both the House and the Senate must pass legislation before the two bills are reconciled. In late April, Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR, and Ranking Member, Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, introduced the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 to prevent the premature closure of the Federal Helium Reserve.
Legislation is now advancing in both the House and the Senate, but there are still differences. These differences will likely be found in the details of distribution—what percentage of the helium gets auctioned off to whom. Connell said he expects the two chambers will come to an agreement without too much trouble, although finding time to pass such legislation could be challenging given so much contention in the capital on other issues. He said it is possible that final legislation could be tucked in a piece of larger, possibly unrelated measures.
