Toxic effects of gallium arsenide on sperm in rats by repeated intratracheal instillations.

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) has superior properties for making high-frequency devices and photon emitters. In the future, this is going to be ex tensively used in the development of super comput ers, telecommunication systems, light-emitting diodes, and semiconductor lasers. This will inevita bly lead to an increase in the exposure of workers manufacturing these products to GaAs. When GaAs was instilled intratracheally into rats and hamsters, it dissolved and subsequently arsenic was detected in the blood1,2), and also, both tri valent and pentavalent arsenics were reported to ac cumulate in the epididymis after the intravenous in jection by autoradiographic studies 3). Arsenic pen toxide was reported to reduce the weight of the testis and cause a necrotic change in the testis when administered intratesticularly or subcutaneously4)