Risk analysis in chemical process industries is an elaborate exercise involving several steps from preliminary hazard identification to development of credible accident scenarios, to preparation of strategies for prevention or control of damage. All this requires substantial inputs of time and money. In order to get an approximate yet workable assessment of risk at much lesser costs, indices have been developed which link typical findings of elaborate risk analysis to scales of risk. The scales, in turn, provide workable measures of hazards/risks/safety. In the past, indices have been reported for swift risk! assessment-the noteworthy among them include Dow fire and explosion index Mond fire, explosion and toxicity index IFAL index, and mortality index. A few rapid ranking techniques have also been proposed. This paper presents a new system of methodologies for Hazard Identification and Ranking (HIRA). The system consists of two indices: one for fire and explosion hazards and another for the hazard due to likely release of toxic chemical. The magnitudes of these indices indicate the severity of the likely accident; in terms of the size of the impacted area. HIRA has been applied to a typical chemical process industry-a sulfolane plant-and its performance has been compared with that of the Dow＇s and the Mend＇s indices. The study reveals that HIRA is more sensitive and accurate than the other indices.