A review of the literature published on the genotoxicity of industrial wastes and effluents using short-term genetic bioassays is presented in the document. The importance of this task arises from the ubiquity of genotoxic compounds in the environment and the need to identify the sources of contamination so that efforts aimed at control and minimization can be implemented. Of even greater significance is the immediate concern for the welfare of human health and the environment. Subheadings of the document include an introduction, a summary of the various genetic bioassays that have been used to test industrial wastes, a compendium of methods commonly used to prepare crude waste samples for bioassay, and a review of the genetic toxicity of wastes and effluents. Wastes have been grouped according to major industrial source. Within each industrial category, a synopsis of individual studies is presented, followed by an interpretation of results on an industry-wide basis.