National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div.,100 Bureau Drive Stop 3572, Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3572

B -- USE OF BURN FACILITY FOR MARSHLAND BURNS SOL 53SBNB067077 DUE 073100 POC Diane M. Loeb (301) 975-6399, FAX (301) 963-7732, or e-mail: dloeb@nist.gov WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. E-MAIL: NIST Contracts Office, Contract@nist.gov. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Building Fire and Research Laboratory intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Fire & Emergency Training Institute (FETI) Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. Oil spilled in sensitive wetland environments poses unique problems associated with cleanup. The overall goal of this series of burns is to evaluate the environmental impact of in situ burning of oil in wetlands. In fact, mechanical oil spill remediation in wetlands may result in more damage to the wetland than the oil itself. In situ burning of oiled wetlands may provide a less damaging methodology than traditional mechanical recovery. FETI will provide a secure location to set-up and burn a series ten oil on water pool fires of 20 foot diameter for a duration of 30 minutes or less, access to water for instrument cooling and fire extinguishment, diesel fuel/crude oil and access to fabrication facilities on cost reimbursable basis. The university is the only vendor capable of performing this service because of the foregoing reasons. The project associated with this requisition includes exposing marshland plants and soils to the burning crude oil. Approximately 128 plant specimens have been harvested from marshlands in southern Louisiana. Each plant specimen or sod consists of a 30 cm diameter and 30 cm deep container (five gallon bucket) of representative marshland plants, either Spartina alterniflora or Spartina Patens. These sods are currently being maintained and monitored in Louisiana State University greenhouses outside Baton Rouge, LA. Prior to exposure to the burning oil, each plant will be transported to the burn facility. After exposure, each plant will be returned to the greenhouse for monitoring and additional chemical analyses. These plant sods must be treated gently before and after exposure to insure that the stress of the exposure to burning oil is the dominant stressor. It is important that the burn facility be no more than 60 minutes from the greenhouses, in order to minimize the stress of transporting the sods to and from the greenhouse. Since more than one burn may be executed in a single day, it is important that the burn facility be close enough to the greenhouses to facilitate multiple deliveries on a single day. Delivering all the plants necessary for morning and afternoon exposures in a single morning arrival would introduce excessive stress on the plants scheduled for the afternoon exposure. After exposure to burning crude oil, small amounts of crude oil and crude oil residue clings to the plant stems and containers. For transportation over public highways, crude oil is considered to be a hazardous material and special permits may be required for transportation of hazardous materials. Because FETI is located within the same state as the greenhouses, the number of special permits necessary for transportation of hazardous materials will be kept to a minimum. The period of performance is for three weeks. The place of performance is Baton Rouge, LA. No solicitation package will be issued. The anticipated award date of the contract is on or around fifteen days from the date of this notice. See Note 26. If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact Diane Loeb on 301 975-6399 or via email dloeb@nist.gov. Posted 07/17/00 (W-SN475561). (0199)

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