Helium Party Balloons - Environmental & Safety Issues
Helium Balloons & Safety
Helium Inhalation - it's no laughing matter
(article courtesy of BOC Gases)
Inhaling Helium is Dangerous!
Have you ever been to a party and inhaled helium in an attempt to sound like Donald Duck? If so, you have 
probably put your life at risk! Evidence has proven that the inhalation of helium can be fatal, yet thousands of party goers continue to inhale helium thinking it to be incredibly funny rather than life threatening. The inhalation of helium cuts off a person's supply of oxygen and can cause dizziness, unconsciousness and ultimately death! Doctors around Australia are concerned about the health risk associated with people inhaling helium. This is a particular problem when people are inebriated and their system is already contending with an outside influence.
According to Consultant Occupational Health Physician, Dr Greg McGroder, "Australians have not yet realized the extreme danger associated with helium inhalation. If the concentration of oxygen is decreased below 18% within the human body, symptoms and signs of Asphyxia can occur. Helium gas can totally displace the available oxygen and if this is maintained for even a few seconds, asphyxia and death can and will occur".
In 1898, fifteen year old Michelle Moreno from Texas died from helium inhalation at a friend's party. Her death caused major headlines regarding the dangers of helium inhalation. In Australia, Kristi Brash from Victoria had a near death experience when she appeared to freeze and turn blue after inhaling the entire contents of a balloon. Kristi fell motionless to the floor but luckily regained consciousness after a few minutes. Kristi was rushed to hospital and after examination she appeared to be fine although any long term affects of the inhalation are yet to be determined.
Comedy television and radio programmes often use helium as a device to get laughs. This portrays helium inhalation as a fun, safe practice when, in effect, it is deadly. Public figures are influential in the minds of the public and they need to realize that they could either die from helium use or be indirectly responsible for the death of another.
BOC Gases is deeply concerned about the misuse of Balloon Gas and is going to great efforts to inform the public that helium inhalation can be fatal. Unfortunately with people continuing to ignore the dangers of this potentially lethal practice, it is a difficult task to educate the public that HELIUM INHALATION IS NO LAUGHING MATTER!
(further information may be obtained by contacting your nearest BOC Gases branch.)
Environmental Issues - Biodegradability
Balloons are made of 100% biodegradable natural substance latex, that breaks down in both sunlight and water and should never be confused with plastic. The degradation process begins almost immediately after a balloon is manufactured. Oxidation, the "frosting" that makes latex balloons look as if they are loosing their colour, is one of the first signs of the process. Exposure to sunlight quickens the process, but natural microorganisms attach natural rubber, even in the dark.
Saving Rain Forests
Rubber trees, from which the latex is harvested, are one of the main forms of vegetation in tropical rain forests, which in recent years have become critical to maintaining the Earth's fragile ecological balance. Harvesting latex can be more profitable to poor third world countries than raising cattle on the deforested land. Even when the trees producing latex for balloon manufacturing grow on plantations instead of in rain forests, they help the ecosystem, as the natural biology of the trees helps maintain our atmosphere and protect the ozone layer. The demand for latex balloons actually is a huge contributor to a more positive environment in which global warming is increasingly worrying scientists and environmentalists. The balloon industry worldwide requires the latex from 16-million rubber trees that, in total, take up more than 363-million kilograms of CO2 gases annually from the earth's atmosphere.
What happens to Balloons that fly?
After a helium-filled balloon is released, it rises through the atmosphere at a little under two metres per second. Both atmospheric pressure and temperature drop as altitude increases. The balloon rises to a height of about 28,000 feet (about 8.4 kilometres) over a period of about 90 minutes. At that altitude the temperature is about 40 degrees C below zero and the balloon has expanded to reach its elastic limit. A 27-centimetre balloon elongates, on average, to about 700% of its original, un-inflated, size before bursting. Under these high altitude conditions, the balloon actually shatters and undergoes what is called a "brittle fracture". The resulting pieces of rubber are about the size of a ten or twenty-cent piece and these float back to earth and are scatted over a wide area. The vast majority of balloons will have this fate.
The Litter Factor – Balloons after Bursting
It's at this point, a balloon completes the last part of its life cycle. The rubber pieces continue to biodegrade (a process which begins, incidentally, from the moment a balloon is manufactured) until it has totally disappeared. The time taken varies, but on average, the process of decay for latex runs at about the same speed as that of an oak leaf after Autumn (tests conducted using American conditions). A helium-filled balloon which has shattered at altitude will biodegrade much faster than a whole balloon which is simply disposed of in landfill waste. However, no matter what the environment, a latex balloon decays from the moment its manufacture is completed.
Balloons and Wildlife
There is simply no basis for any fear that animals and fish are consuming either whole balloons or pieces of latex rubber from mass release balloons, orthat balloons are having an adverse effect on wildlife. To further read the extensive research undertaken for this matter can be found at www.balloonartists.com.au/environment.htm (BASA -Balloon And Suppliers Association)
At no time is Foil or commonly called "Mylar" balloons permitted to be released into the atmosphere. The foil balloon can conduct electricity should the balloon come in contact with a power lines causing inconvenience to both workers and affected homeowners within the area.
If you have any questions, please call us on 02 - 4422 9227.