Pulmonary clearance and toxicity of respirable gallium arsenide particulates intratracheally instilled into rats.

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is an intermetallic compound that is recognized as a potential toxicological risk to workers occupationally exposed to its dust. Previous results have shown that rats intratracheally instilled with a fraction of GaAs particulates, characterized with a mean count diameter of 8.30 microns and a mean volume diameter of 12.67 microns, developed signs of systemic arsenic intoxication, pulmonary inflammation, and pneumocyte hyperplasia. The results of the present study confirm these findings and also show that a significantly smaller fraction of GaAs is a relatively more severe pneumotoxicant. Decreasing the particle mean count and mean volume diameter to 1.63 micron and 5.82 microns, respectively, increased the in vivo dissolution rate of GaAs, increased the severity of pulmonary lesions previously associated with GaAs exposure, and resulted in unique pathological sequelae in affected lung tissue. Pulmonary fibrosis, as indicated by analysis of lung 4-hydroxyproline content, was not considered statistically significant although histological examination of lung tissue revealed a mild fibrotic response. These results provide additional evidence that pulmonary exposure to respirable GaAs particulates is a potential health hazard in the semiconductor industry.