COMMANDING OFFICER, ATTN NAVFAC CONTRACTS OFFICE CODE 27, NCBC 1000 23RD AVE, PORT HUENEME, CA 93043-4301

F -- BAA FOR CONTAINMENT AND/OR ELIMINATION OF EMISSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CUTTING AND GOUGING OPERATIONS DURING SHIP DISMANTLING, REPAIR AND CONSTRUCTION. SOL N47408-97-R-1863 BAA ANNOUNCEMENT DUE 091697 POC Contract Specialist, PAULETTE K. PETERSON, 805-982-5081 This announcement constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) under FAR 6.102 (d)(2) to solicit information. NFESC in cooperation with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), West Bethesda, MD is seeking information on innovative technologies providing significant reduction of emissions associated with cutting (oxy fuel, plasma arc and oxygen lance) and arc-gouging operation at Navy industrial facilities. Pollution prevention control technologies that focus on the front-end pollution prevention are of particular interest, although end-of-pipe technologies are included in this announcement. The technology will be applied primarily in shipyards but it could have applications at other Navy activities. The definition of innovative technology is any technology which is significantly better, cheaper, and faster than existing technologies that is not broadly applied due to limited knowledge or established standards within theNavys engineering community. To be eligible for Navy consideration and possible award of a demonstration contract, the new and innovative technology must be in the Advanced Development Stage, not requiring further technology research or design development prior to field demonstration and be capable of full scale implementation if the demonstration is successful. Technologies that can eliminate/capture the emissions, can be fully demonstrated/validated, can be scaled for the Navys needs, and can be implemented within 1-2 years are of greatest interest to the Navy. All innovative technologies/solutions that meet the objectives of this investigation, whether front-end or end-of- pipe, will be reviewed. Protection of the welders health and safety and environmental protection are of primary interest when evaluating the equipment. Another important consideration for evaluating technologies includes portability, so the equipment can be used in dry-docks for cutting operations and in a more compact form for use aboard ships and inside confined spaces such as tanks. Additional factors include the ease of use and the safety of maintenance personnel when servicing the technology, noise generation, ergonomic effects on the welder, and weld metal quality including chemistry, tensile and toughness properties and radiographic soundness. Technologies that reduce the volume or improve the management of particulate related slag are also of interest. We are particularly interested in addressing emissions from on-hull and off-hull cutting operations performed during the dismantling/recycling of submarines and surface craft. During these operations, large steel sections are selected and cut into manageable size pieces prior to being removed from the hull. Personnel must maneuver over and sometimes, within the submarine, to perform cutting operations necessary to dismantle hull sections and remove ship equipment. Once dislodged, many of these sections are taken to off-hull locations for further cutting and size reduction prior to domestic smelting. Other sections are disposed in landfills depending on their type and level of contamination. Both on-hull and off-hull cutting operation generate large plumes of particulate, gases, fumes, and vapors. These plumes contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that include heavy metals (such as manganese, chromium, and nickel), metal oxides (chromium oxide), particulate, and may contain compounds such as NOx, SOx, CO, etc. that can be produced as a result of cutting/burning depending on the cleanliness of the cut area. The EPA has identified 189 elements which are considered HAPs. These materials will be restricted under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for shipbuilding and ship repair operations. The NESHAP is mandated by the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 and will impact welding, cutting and gouging operations in Navy ship construction, repair and recycling. Health standards organizations, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and theAmerican Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), propose to reduce the occupational exposure limits for Cr(VI), Mn, and Ni to .5/5.0 ug/m3, 200 ug/m3 and 50/100 ug/m3 respectively. The proposed Cr(VI) could be as low as 1/200th of its current exposure limit action level. Therefore, in order to comply with NESHAP, as well as OSHA and EPA requirements, the Navy and other ship repair facilities must contain and control air emissions associated with these industrial processes. This includes characterizing actual emissions and identifying/implementing proven, mature, cost effective and efficient emissions elimination, control and/or containment processes/technologies at Navy industrial facilities. Some attempts at fume control have been made at off-hull cutting locations using containment. However, the effectiveness of this practice has not yet been fully determined and does not impact emissions generated during on-hull cutting operations at dry dock locations. Potential problem areas at Naval Shipyards include emissions from cutting operations performed on ship superstructures extending out of the dry dock, at off-hull locations, and inside the dry dock where the resultant plumes extend beyond the recessed area. These emissions have become more frequent in recent years due an increase in the number of decommissioned submarines and surface ships that are being dismantled annually. The Navy is interested in innovative solutions/equipment including engineering controls, process modifications and alternative practices that can reduce or eliminate emissions from cutting and arc gouging operations. Implementing one or more types of engineering controls will likely be most practical and cost effective since equipment designed for a persons individual protection will not address emissions to the environment. Similarly, process modifications, such as reducing torch gas flow and or tip size, will likely reduce the cut width and make it harder or impossible to remove large sections from the hull. The Navy hasidentified and is currently evaluating equipment for reducing/eliminating emissions generated during welding operations. None appear to be adequate for application in ship dismantling operations in that they can not be conveniently/ practically maneuvered for on-hull use, have an unacceptable impact on cutting operations (time, etc.), do not adequately address/eliminate emissions to the environment or are not sufficient to contain the heavy emissions and spatter that occurs during cutting and gouging operations. Interested parties should send an original and two copies of the abstract to DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, CBC Code 272311 BLDG 41, 1000 23RD AVENUE, PORT HUENEME, CA 93043-4301. Abstracts must be submitted in printed form on paper. Do not submit abstracts via e-mail, videotape, computer diskettes or other non-paper material. For technical information regarding this BAA, contact Kathleen Paulson at (805) 982-4984. There is no commitment by the Navy to make any contract award, nor to be responsible for any funds expended by the offeror before the award of a demonstration contract, should it occur. Multiple contracts may result, with award not exceeding $425,000 for each contract award. Award resulting from this announcement is subject to funding and site availability. Submittals to this BAA shall be in abstract form describing the merits and objectives of what the contractor is offering. The abstract (not a sales brochure) shall be titled and shall identify the BAA number and title, offerors name and address, telephone number fax number and e-mail address. The submittal shall concisely describe what the contractor is offering the Navy with sections on (a) The overall innovativeness, scientific/technical merit and objectives of the offer. Commentary should include required utilities, system footprint and other support requirements, a process flow diagram, emissions data and removal efficiency. (b) The offerors capabilities, related experience techniques and unique combination of these which are integral factors in achieving the offeror's proposed objectives. (c) The qualifications capabilities and experience of the principal investigator, team leader or key personnel who are critical in achieving the objectives of the offer. (d) The reasonableness of cost relative to the proposed scientific /technical approach or other relative cost data. The responder should provide an estimate for system acquisition costs including: consumable replacement, labor, maintenance, construction and site preparation costs. The abstract, submitted as an original with two copies, shall be no longer than three pages, single-sided and 12 pitch. One attachment of up to 10 pages (single-sided) of test data may be submitted as an attachment to the abstract. It should contain OSH, environmental and metal test summaries of previous test demonstrations and projects to support the contractors proposed scientific/technical approach. It should provide data from the initial plume samples or other test matrix characterizations, final analysis, how the test data was validated and any patents pending and/or issued. Clearly identify all proprietary and cost information that is not to be published or disseminated. Abstract submittals to this BAA will be reviewed by a NFESC Technical Evaluation Board. Abstracts are not evaluated against each other since each is a unique technology with no common work statement. Based on the abstract review results, and subject to availability of funds and demonstration sites, respondents with an equipment technology found to have merit for specific Navy locations will be sent site specific information and asked for as full technical and cost proposal for a potential contract award. The purpose of any resulting contract will be to demonstrate and conduct a full scale implementation project to solve the Navys cutting and arc-gouging emission concern. Deadline for receipt of abstract is 16 September 1997. (0204)

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