US federal helium reserve may be forced to shut down

Wall Street Journal : Unless the US Congress takes immediate action when it reconvenes in September, the Federal Helium Reserve—which supplies more than one-third of the world’s helium—may be forced to shut down by October. The Texas-based facility has been the primary domestic helium producer since it was built in 1929. Helium, the second most abundant resource in the universe, is primarily extracted from natural gas. It is, however, very difficult to transport and store. In 1996, when the reserve hit $1.4 billion in debt, Congress decided it had to phase it out. But few private companies have stepped in to fill the gap. If the reserve closes, numerous industries will suffer, including rocket engine testing, magnetic resonance imaging, semiconductor chip production, and weather monitoring via balloons.