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6 <br /> <br />project's health risk impact, which supports the necessity of a construction and operational HRA in <br />addition to the LST analysis.7 Therefore, in order to determine the proposed Project’s health-related <br />impact, the Addendum should have conducted an assessment that compares the Project’s construction <br />and operational health risk to the SCAQMD’s specific numerical threshold of 10 in one million. <br />Third, as previously discussed, the Addendum’s analysis relies upon emission estimates from a flawed <br />CalEEMod model to estimate the excess cancer risk posed to nearby residents as a result of emissions <br />generated during construction-related activity. Because the emissions estimates from the Project’s <br />CalEEMod model are underestimated, the Addendum’s analysis comparing emissions from the model to <br />thresholds are thus incorrect. As a result, we find the Addendum’s health-related air quality analysis and <br />subsequent significance determination to be incorrect. <br />Finally, the omission of a quantified HRA is inconsistent with the most recent guidance published by the <br />Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the organization responsible for providing <br />guidance on conducting HRAs in California. In February of 2015, OEHHA released its most recent Risk <br />Assessment Guidelines: Guidance Manual for Preparation of Health Risk Assessments, which was <br />formally adopted in March of 2015.8 This guidance document describes the types of projects that <br />warrant the preparation of an HRA. Construction of the Project will produce emissions of DPM, a human <br />carcinogen, through the exhaust stacks of construction equipment over a construction period of <br />approximately two-years (p. 2-10). The OEHHA document recommends that all short-term projects <br />lasting at least two months be evaluated for cancer risks to nearby sensitive receptors.9 Therefore, per <br />OEHHA guidelines, health risk impacts from Project construction should have been evaluated by the <br />Addendum. Furthermore, once construction of the Project is complete, the Project will operate for a <br />long period of time. As previously stated, Project operation will generate approximately 1,420 vehicle <br />trips, which will generate additional exhaust emissions and continue to expose nearby sensitive <br />receptors to DPM emissions (Appendix E-1-, p. 19, Table 5-1). The OEHHA document recommends that <br />exposure from projects lasting more than 6 months be evaluated for the duration of the project, and <br />recommends that an exposure duration of 30 years be used to estimate individual cancer risk for the <br />maximally exposed individual resident (MEIR).10 Even though we were not provided with the expected <br />lifetime of the Project, we can reasonably assume that the Project will operate for at least 30 years, if <br />not more. Therefore, health risks from Project operation should have also been evaluated by the <br />Addendum, as a 30-year exposure duration vastly exceeds the 2-month and 6-month requirements set <br />forth by OEHHA. These recommendations reflect the most recent health risk policy, and as such, an <br /> <br />7 “South Coast AQMD Air Quality Significance Thresholds.” SCAQMD, Revised April 2019, available at: <br />http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/ceqa/handbook/scaqmd-air-quality-significance- <br />thresholds.pdf?sfvrsn=2 <br />8 “Risk Assessment Guidelines Guidance Manual for Preparation of Health Risk Assessments.” OEHHA, February <br />2015, available at: http://oehha.ca.gov/air/hot_spots/hotspots2015.html <br />9 “Risk Assessment Guidelines Guidance Manual for Preparation of Health Risk Assessments.” OEHHA, February <br />2015, available at: http://oehha.ca.gov/air/hot_spots/2015/2015GuidanceManual.pdf, p. 8-18 <br />10 “Risk Assessment Guidelines Guidance Manual for Preparation of Health Risk Assessments.” OEHHA, February <br />2015, available at: http://oehha.ca.gov/air/hot_spots/2015/2015GuidanceManual.pdf, p. 8-6, 8-15