3-Nitrobenzanthrone (3-NBA) is a potent mutagen and suspected human carcinogen identified in diesel exhaust. The thermochemical formation cascades were calculated for six 3-NBA-derived DNA adducts employing its arylnitrenium ion as precursor using density functional theory (DFT). Clear exothermic pathways were found for four adducts, i.e., 2-(2′-deoxyadenosin-N⁶-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone, 2-(2′-deoxyguanosin-N²-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone, N-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone and 2-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone. All four have been observed to be formed in cell-free experimental systems. The formation of N-(2′-deoxyadenosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone is predicted to be not thermochemically viable explaining its absence in either in vitro or in vivo model systems. However, 2-(2′-deoxyadenosin-8-yl)-3-aminobenzanthrone, can be formed, albeit not as a major product, and is a viable candidate for an unknown adenine adduct observed experimentally. 2-nitrobenzanthrone (2-NBA), an isomer of 3-NBA, was also included in the calculations; it has a higher abundance in ambient air than 3-NBA, but a much lower genotoxic potency. Similar thermochemical profiles were obtained for the calculated 2-NBA-derived DNA adducts. This leads to the conclusion that enzymatic activation as well as the stability of its arylnitrenium ion are important determinants of 2-NBA genotoxicity.