STEM 5 - Geisendorff1 Claudia Geisendorff Chem Professor Dungan 8 December 2016 STEM Blog 5 The World is Running Dangerously Low on Helium Perhaps best

Geisendorff Claudia Geisendorff Chem Professor Dungan 8 December 2016 STEM Blog 5: The World is Running Dangerously Low on Helium Perhaps best known for its balloon inflating capabilities, helium is important to many aspects of our society. A major aspect of STEM, helium is not only a big component in industrial activities since it does not mix with other chemicals easily, but also essential to high-tech medicine and machines. According to Washington Post, helium has become so significant in today’s society, that there have been fears of a shortage. A company, called Helium One, has felt it necessary to discover new helium deposits and has recently hit a stroke of luck. In Tanzania’s East African Rift Valley, a helium field was discovered after large amounts of the gas was released by volcanic activity from ancient rocks. It is unclear if there is any environmental concerns drilling this gas from Tanzania, but the company does not believe it will harm the surrounding land since there is not oil or natural gas there. In this rift valley, about seven times