66 -- Radiation Monitor

The Food and Drug Administration plans to award a sole source purchase order to Radcal Corporation of Monrovia, California, for the provision of specific radiation monitoring equipment. The order includes six Radcal FBH Radiation Monitors with converters and 4-meter cables (Model 1015), five additional units of Model 1015FBH, six ion chambers (Models 10X5-6L and 10X5-180), and five mammography ion chambers (Model 10-5-6m). The FDA currently uses a large inventory of the Model 1015 FB x-ray monitors, which were custom-designed for their use; therefore, introducing different equipment would require significant procedural changes, system modifications, and retraining of inspectors. This procurement is being conducted as a simplified acquisition under FAR 12.6 and is not open to competitive bids, although other sources may submit descriptive literature to demonstrate their capability. The sole source approach is justified by the need for compatibility with existing equipment and procedures essential to FDA inspection activities. The contract was posted on July 18, 2003, under the reference number A71456.