MODIFICATION
A -- Sources Sought - Development and Design of a Passive Aerosol Sampler Shelter
- Notice Date
- 11/13/2006
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Environmental Protection Agency, Ord Service Center/Nerl, Rtp Procurement Operations Division, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
- ZIP Code
- 27711
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-RT-07-00022
- Response Due
- 11/27/2006
- Archive Date
- 12/27/2006
- Description
- NAICS Code: 541710 THIS MODIFICATION IS TO MAKE FURTHER MINOR CHANGES TO THE WORK AS DESCRIBED BELOW. DUE TO THE CHANGES MADE IN THIS AND THE PRIOR SYNOPSIS MODIFICATION, THE DUE-DATE FOR CAPABILITY STATEMENTS IS EXTENDED UNTIL NOVEMBER 27, 2006. The purpose of this synopsis is to conduct a market search for businesses or other organizations with the demonstrated capability to design and test a shelter that isolates a passive aerosol sampler for particulate matter (PM) from wind and precipitation and conduct a field evaluation of the sheltered passive sampler. The US EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) is currently conducting field evaluations of a passive aerosol sampler for particulate matter (PM). The Wagner-Leith passive sampler (Wagner and Leith, 2001a, 2001b, 2001c) shows potential for assessing PM exposure because it can be operated without a power source and can be miniaturized, making their deployment at multiple locations easy and cost-effective. Initial tests of the passive sampler have shown mixed results in terms of the sampler's ability to measure ambient mass concentrations with acceptable accuracy and precision. Different rain shelter designs for the passive sampler have been used in these initial field tests and may account in part for observed differences between passive and actively-measured mass concentrations. The contractor shall: (1) Design and test a shelter that isolates the passive sampler from wind and precipitation. The ideal shelter is one that affords protection from most precipitation events, minimally affects particle deposition velocity, and is inexpensive. (The goal is to keep the cost of the shelter less than the passive sampler which is currently about $45). The performance of the shelter in terms of its impact on the accuracy of the passive sampler PM measurements must be characterized over a range of wind speeds encountered in ambient monitoring. The contractor shall conduct wind tunnel tests at 0, 2, 8, and 24 km/hr on a passive sampler protected by a candidate shelter(s). Using optical or electron microscopy and particle analysis software, the contractor shall estimate the PM10-2.5 concentrations in the wind tunnel experiments using a calculation spreadsheet provided by the EPA. PM10-2.5 estimated with the sheltered passive sampler(s) will be compared to that measured with a collocated dichotomous sampler and a collocated unsheltered passive sampler. (The deposition model developed by Wagner and Leith to estimate mass concentrations from passive samplers was empirically based on tests conducted with unsheltered passive samplers. The unsheltered passive sampler is therefore expected to yield the best agreement with active samplers). Three replicate sheltered samplers will be exposed at each wind speed to assess precision. The proposed shelter should ideally shield the passive sampler from direct moisture during precipitation events. Three sheltered passive samplers will be placed outdoors in an exposed location and exposed to a minimum of three (but as many as possible) rain or snow precipitation events. The samplers will be visually inspected for the presence of moisture during and after each precipitation event. Inspection results will be recorded in a log along with notes on relevant weather conditions such as fog, high winds, horizontal rain, heavy downpour, etc. At the conclusion of these tests, it may be necessary to examine the samplers by microscopy in order to assess the integrity of the samplers. If requested, these samples shall be made available to the EPA for analysis; (2) Conduct a field evaluation of the sheltered passive sampler. Using the shelter developed in Task 1 and the passive samplers the contractor shall monitor PM10-2.5 for a five-day exposure period at an ambient monitoring site equipped with a dichot sampler to provide a reference PM10-2.5 concentration and a wind speed monitor providing hourly wind speed for the 5-day monitoring period. Three sheltered and 2 unsheltered passive samplers will be exposed in order to assess precision. (It is understood that precipitation during the 5-day field test may invalidate the unsheltered sampler results). The contractor shall repeat the 5-day field test detailed above a second and third time. Using optical or electron microscopy and particle analysis software, the contractor shall estimate the PM10-2.5 concentrations from the sheltered and unsheltered passive samplers. Passive sampler PM10-2.5 mass will be linearly regressed against PM10-2.5 mass measured with the dichotomous sampler. The accuracy and precision of the sheltered and unsheltered passive samplers for PM10-2.5 mass will be determined by comparison with the dichot sampler results. The EPA is requesting capability statements in response to this synopsis. The statement should detail your organization's experience with this type of sampler and with shelters for passive aerosol samplers. The capability statement should also include your organization's size determination. To be considered a small business, this procurement will utilize NAICS code 541710 "Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences" with a size standard of 500 employees or less. The information submitted will be evaluated and used to determine what sources can provide the services, and whether or not this procurement may be set aside for small businesses. Otherwise, this procurement will be subject to full and open competition. The US Environmental Protection Agency, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park NC intends to award a purchase order for the above services. All capability statements are due by 12:00 p.m. ET on November 27, 2006. If submitting your capability statement via the US Postal Service, please use the following address: US Environmental Protection Agency, Attention: Rebecca Clausen, RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. If submitting your capability statement via courier, please use the following address: US Environmental Protection Agency, Attention: Rebecca Clausen RTP Procurement Operations Division (E105-02), 4930 Page Road, Durham, NC 27703. E-mail submission is also acceptable: clausen.rebecca@epa.gov. No facsimile or telephonic responses will be accepted.
- Record
- SN01180283-W 20061115/061113220705 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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