SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Testing of Commercial Manifold Tubing Materials - Vendor Agreement
- Notice Date
- 11/9/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Washington, District of Columbia, 20528, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20528
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-AH2
- Archive Date
- 12/30/2009
- Point of Contact
- Janet Herman, Phone: 202-254-6918
- E-Mail Address
-
janet.herman@dhs.gov
(janet.herman@dhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Vendor Agreement Request for Information (RFI) Testing of Commercial Manifold Tubing Materials for Chemical and Biological Agent Transport 1. Reference Number: DHSSTCHEMBIO2009RFIAH2 2. Response Due Date: 23 November 2009, 1700 E.S.T. to rfi-ah2@hq.dhs.gov 3. Synopsis: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate is seeking information of commercially available manifold tubing materials that match or exceed the specifications outlined below. If manifold tubing materials exist that meet these specifications, selected respondents may be asked to voluntarily participate in a laboratory test to quantify the properties of the materials for chemical and biological agent transport over several meters of tubing. This is NOT a Request for Quotation. Any information submitted by respondents to this synopsis is strictly voluntary. Selection of respondents for participation in the laboratory test will be based on review and assessment of the response submission and how well the material meets the specified requirements, as well as on testing chamber capacities and testing team resources. The review and assessment will be performed by DHS federal and contractor support personnel. All contractors support personnel shall be bound by non-disclosure agreements. 4. Background: The Chemical and Biological Research & Development Branch within the DHS S&T Directorate is developing rapid chemical and biological detection sensors for deployments in indoor facilities. To support the operational deployment of chemical and biological detection sensors in buildings, DHS S&T is developing a test bed and series of tests to measure the transport of chemical and biological agents through long lengths of tubing materials. As part of this effort, DHS S&T will host a voluntary test opportunity for commercially available manifold tubing materials. This test will provide DHS S&T with an assessment of the current capabilities of commercially available tubing materials with respect to installation of manifold systems for chemical and biological agent detection. To participate in this voluntary test opportunity, DHS S&T is requesting responses to this RFI for tubing materials which meet the requirements listed in Section 6 below. 5. Testing Opportunity: The test will be held at the Battelle Memorial Institute campus in Columbus, OH, and is anticipated to occur in December 2009-March 2010. The tubing materials will be tested in a chemical fume hood and a BSL-1 chamber environment. Tubing materials will be exposed to: 1. One chemical warfare agent simulant and two toxic chemicals of interest to DHS S&T (details provided to those selected to participate in the test). 2. Polystyrene spheres several microns in diameter. 3. One biological simulant (BSL-1) for a biological agent of interest to DHS S&T (details provided to those selected to participate in the test). Data will be analyzed to determine: 1. Transport efficiency of chemical and biological materials through the tubing material. 2. Transport dependence on tubing length, flow rates, and tubing diameter, as testing allows. NO REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE PROVIDED TO TEST PARTICIPANTS. Participants in the test will be responsible for providing and delivering sufficient tubing materials for the tests to BMI. The costs for manufacture and shipping will be borne by the tubing material supplier. The tubing will not be returned to the shipper at the end of the test and the Government assumes no liability. Before participating in the test, tubing material suppliers shall be required to sign a vendor agreement (see attached). DHS S&T will ONLY provide the challenge materials listed above to be used during the test. Access to the testing location will not be allowed for the tubing material providers, and no other support from DHS S&T will be provided to test participants. Following the test, DHS S&T will provide the independent laboratory data to the tubing material suppliers on the performance of their materials. With the approval of the tubing material supplier, DHS S&T will publish the results of the study in additional reports to be distributed to potential customers. These reports will include a comparison of the tubing materials which were tested over the range of conditions described above. Participation in this test does not guarantee further participation by the tubing material supplier in the development of a technology solution for DHS S&T, nor does non-participation in the test preclude further participation in the development of a technology solution for DHS S&T. 6. Tubing Material Requirements/Technical Specifications: In order to be considered for participation in this test, the tubing material must meet the following requirements: 1. Must be flexible (able to bend easily and maintain a radius of curvature of at least 1 foot) 2. Must be easy to cut lengths of the tubing for various tests 3. Must be able to deliver tubing material to the testing location by mid-December. For full participation in all of the planned tests (all agents, sufficient test replicates, and multiple flow conditions), about 10,000' of tubing material will be required. Phased delivery or partial participation in the tests will be considered, with the first material shipment required by mid-December. 7. Response Submission Guidelines: Responses shall be no more than 5 single-sided pages on 8.5x11" paper. Responses should be sent as.doc or.pdf files, with a maximum size of 10 MB, to RFI-AH2@hq.dhs.gov by the due date listed in Section 2 above. Although input from industry is desired, late responses may not be considered, due to the processing activity required of the Government. Responses to this RFI must include: 1. Description of the chemical and physical composition of the tubing material, as well as available tubing diameters up to 1". 2. All handling (what form would it be delivered in) and cutting (tools) requirements for the tubing material. 3. Material availability and delivery schedule. 4. Discussion of any chemical and/or biological agent transport tests previously conducted using the tubing material. This discussion should include: a. Where the tests were performed b. Funding agency and Technical POC for the tests c. What agents or simulants were used in the tests d. Results of the tests, with appropriate statistical analysis of the data 5. Description of any current commercial applications for the tubing material. 6. Description of any sensor technologies currently used with the tubing material in a manifold configuration. 7. Approval or disapproval for testing results to be published in non-FOUO, comparative reports for distribution to potential DHS customers. 8. Point(s) of Contact. This is not a Request for Quotation. Any information submitted by respondents to this synopsis is strictly voluntary. This Sources Sought Synopsis is in support of market research. Selection of participating tubing materials will be based on review and assessment of the response submission and how well the material meets the specified requirements, as well as on testing chamber capacities and testing team resources.
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- Record
- SN02000792-W 20091111/091109234959-c5f5ff56a25e2aa1e191b964ab75e11d (fbodaily.com)
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