Not just Party City: Why helium shortages worry scientists and researchers

Source: NBC News

Not just Party City: Why helium shortages worry scientists and researchers

“Helium is the workhorse of chemistry. Because of a helium shortage, some important experiments are being forced to shut down," one physicist said.

May 18, 2019, 4:31 AM EDT
By Mary Pflum

This month’s announcement from Party City that it’s closing more than 40 stores as it grapples with new challenges, including diminishing helium supplies, likely came as unwelcome news to customers who count on the store for their balloon and event planning needs.

But for scientists like Mark Elsesser, the announcement was something of a relief, inflating hopes that the public, and the government, might start paying closer attention.

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“Helium is used in MRIs, it’s used in nuclear magnetic resonance, and the semiconductor industry uses a lot of helium,” Elsesser said.

“Helium is the workhorse of chemistry. Because of a helium shortage, some important experiments are being forced to shut down. The development of some drugs is being impacted. We’re losing time in research efforts.”

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/not-just-party-city-why-helium-shortages-worry-scientists-researchers-n1007151