Table 1.—Salient U.S. gallium statistics 
(Kilograms unless otherwise specified) 
 
 
1981 
1982 
1983 
1984 
1985 
Productione                             
1,500 
1,560 
 
 
 
Imports for consumption                    
Consumption~.                           
Priceperkilogram                        
5,536 
6,810 
$630 
5,199 
6,660 
$630 
7,294 
6,425 
$525 
9,669 
7,060 
$525 
7,961 
7,396 
$525 
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  429GalliumBy Deborah A. Kramer' 
 
 
 
 
 
 Domestic consumption of gallium increased moderately over that of 1984.
No domestic primary gallium production was reported in 1985, and as a result,
imports supplied most of the U.S. gallium demand. Gallium metal was used
to produce gallium compounds, mainly gallium arsenide, for use in electronic
devices, such as integrated circuits, light-emitting diodes (LED), and laser
diodes. 
 Legislation and Government Programs—The Environmental Protection
Agency
(EPA) issued final regulations under the Clean Water Act for specified nonferrous
metals manufacturing operations. These regulations limit the discharge of
pollutants by existing and new operations into navigable waters and into
publicly 
 
 Domestic Data Coverage.—Domestic consumption data for gallium
are
developed by the Bureau of Mines from a voluntary survey of U.S. operations.
Of the 53 operations to which a survey request was sent, 75% responded, representing
61% of the consumption shown in tables 1, 2, and 3. Consumption for the 13
nonrespondents was estimated using import data and information on domestic
consumption trends. 
owned treatment works. Primary and secondary gallium operations were included
under the EPA regulations, and effluent discharges were to be regulated for
arsenic, fluoride, lead, and zinc contaminants. Daily and monthly effluent
limits for these elements varied according to type of manufacturing operation
and effluent source.2