The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has recently made available a new Cancer Risk Screening Worksheet for Nonroad Diesel Engines. This tool, made available by the Air Quality Permitting Program, calculates the estimated incremental cancer risk associated with nonroad diesel engines.
The Cancer Risk Screening Worksheet has inputs for the engine’s stack height, the engine’s horsepower, the discharge direction of the stack, the engine’s tier or year of manufacture, the engine’s operating hours, and the engine’s distance to the property line. Using this input information, the worksheet determines the Diesel Particulate Matter emission factor. The worksheet then uses this emission factor to calculate the related incremental cancer risk. Risk screening is an important tool for observing the health effects of emitted air toxics, such as known carcinogens.
The purpose of this worksheet is to aid in determining whether there is a significant health risk associated with the operation of specific nonroad diesel engines, such as generators. Using the worksheet’s resulting information, NJDEP can conclude if an Air Pollution Control Permit should be issued for the engine based on the its impact on public human and environmental health. Additionally, a facility can use the worksheet information to decide if changes need to be made (e.g. adding a control device) prior to attempting to obtain a NJDEP issued air permit for the engine.
To view the worksheet, and for a detailed explanation of the worksheet development, please visit: www.nj.gov/dep/aqpp/risk.html