Traditionally, the severity of accidents in the chemical process industries has been gauged on the basis of the human lives lost(1-5). However, factors such as loss of assets, contamination of the surroundings, and the resultant trauma also contribute to a very large extent towards the adverse impacts of such accidents. We have developed Accident Hazard Index (AHI) as a new system for a comprehensive yet rapid assessment of the damage caused by accidents in the chemical process industries. The index can also be used to assess the impacts of accidents likely in a yet-to-bc-commissioned industry on the basis of site characteristics and the industry＇s process and operational details; the index thus enables one to choose between possible sites for setting up a new industry.