EXTENDING THE Helium Sales Deadline.

Scientists describe helium as a nonrenewable gas, lighter than air and often found in natural gas fields after being formed by decaying radioactive elements. It was first extracted in Texas from Clay County during World War I, when the military began seeking it as a safer choice than hydrogen for some aircraft. An extraction plant was built in the Amarillo area in the late 1920s, and the government established its Federal Helium Reserve there.

In 1996, Congress passed a law to privatize the Amarillo helium by requiring the federal government to sell nearly all of its reserves. But the law expires at the end of 2014, years before the sell-off will be complete. Last week a Senate committee heard testimony about the bipartisan Helium Stewardship Act, which would extend the time period for the sales. Walter Nelson, an official with Air Products and Chemicals, a Pennsylvania-based helium refiner, warned that without such a move, chaos would ensue, with significant disruptions to industries like semiconductors and fiber optics.

“Imagine the impact on global markets if 30 percent of the world’s oil reserves were off limits,” he testified.

Don’t treat this lightly.