A surprising number of process incidents occur due to a lack of general understanding of process hazards and lack of basic hazards assessment, subsequently resulting in the absence of or inadequate Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) to provide appropriate safeguards for minimizing process risks. Comprehensive assessment of intrinsic hazards that are present in a chemical process or facility is one of the first steps necessary in documenting process safety information and technology prior to conducting PHAs and requires much more than, for example, just a review of the material safety data sheets of materials used in the process. This article reviews practical approaches for conducting and documenting intrinsic hazards assessments. (c) 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2012