New Mexico
Helium
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Helium is cool. It has amazing uses, and it’s not just about that “Donald Duck” voice thing you can do with helium balloons—although that may be the neatest part of it for some. Most people don't realize that inhaling helium can prove fatal. So, what’s cool about helium and what does BLM New Mexico have to do with it? What is it? Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe and was discovered on the sun before it was found on the earth. It has been detected in great abundance in hotter stars and it is an important component in both the proton-proton reaction and the carbon cycle, which accounts for the energy of the sun and stars. Where does it come from?  Helium is commercially recovered from natural gas deposits mostly from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. That’s where BLM New Mexico comes in. We operate and maintain the only government helium storage reservoir and pipeline system in the country. The Amarillo Field Office is responsible for the conservation and sale of helium for government use. What is it used for? Helium is used as an inert shield for arc welding to pressurize the fuel tanks of liquid fueled rockets and in supersonic wind tunnels. Helium is combined with oxygen to create a nitrogen free atmosphere for deep sea divers so that they will not suffer from a condition known as nitrogen narcosis. Liquid helium is an important cryogenic material and is used to study superconductivity and to create superconductive magnets. Liquid helium's use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) continues to increase as the medical profession accepts and develops new uses for the equipment. The most readily recognized use for helium gas is to inflate blimps, scientific balloons and party balloons.
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