The paper gives results of a study to provide chemical and toxicological baseline data on wastewater samples collected from 32 textile plants in the U.S. Raw waste and secondary effluent wastewater samples were analyzed for 129 consent decree priority pollutants, effluent guidelines criteria pollutants, and nutrients; Level 1 chemical analyses were also performed. Secondary effluent samples from 23 plants investigated in the EPA/ATMI BATEA Study (American Textile Manufacturers Institute/ best available technology economically achievable-EPA grant no. R804329) were submitted for seven bioassays: mutagenicity, cytotoxicity, clonal assay, freshwater ecology series (Fathead minnows, Daphnia, and algae), marine ecology series (sheepshead minnows, grass shrimp, and algae), 14-day rat acute toxicity, and soil microcosm. Test results showed that 10 of the 23 textile plants had secondary effluents sufficiently toxic to proceed to a second phase study. In the second phase, samples will be collected from the 10 plants to determine the amount of toxicity removed by selected tertiary treatment technologies.