Health care and semiconductor companies urged the White House to delay the auction of the federal helium system in Texas. But last month a private company was named the highest bidder.
The way we get helium — which is used for everything from lifting rockets and balloons to cooling nuclear reactors and the machines used in an estimated 40 million M.R.I. scans done each year across the country — is about to change because of an auction of the federal helium reserves
The United States last month auctioned off its federal helium reserves, which are near Amarillo, Tex., to a private company, raising concerns that supplies of the substance could be disrupted.
Representatives from medical technology, aerospace, compressed gas, semiconductor and technology industries have called on the Biden administration to delay the sale.
“Any disruption in the supply chain would cause U.S. dependence on a country in the Mideast, a region in the midst of both war and attacks on shipping,” Rich Gottwald, the trade group’s president, said.
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The way we get helium — which is used for everything from lifting rockets and balloons to cooling nuclear reactors and the machines used in an estimated 40 million M.R.I. scans done each year across the country — is about to change because of an auction of the federal helium reserves
The United States last month auctioned off its federal helium reserves, which are near Amarillo, Tex., to a private company, raising concerns that supplies of the substance could be disrupted.
Representatives from medical technology, aerospace, compressed gas, semiconductor and technology industries have called on the Biden administration to delay the sale.
“Any disruption in the supply chain would cause U.S. dependence on a country in the Mideast, a region in the midst of both war and attacks on shipping,” Rich Gottwald, the trade group’s president, said.
The U.S. Is Selling Its Helium. Will Balloons and M.R.I.s Be OK?
Health care and semiconductor companies urged the White House to delay the auction of the federal helium system in Texas. But last month a private company was named the highest bidder.
