99--Infectious waste removal

Sources Sought - Infectious Waste Removal This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals or quotes. The purpose of this Notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources that can furnish all labor, supervision and equipment to remove, transport and dispose of all regulated medical waste for the VA Boston Healthcare System (2) to determine the availability of potential small businesses. Interested small businesses should indicate their status as: Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone small business, 8(a), Small businesses with other socio-economic status or Small businesses with no special socioeconomic categories; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. The NAICS code for this service is 562112 Hazardous Waste Collection and the size standard is $12.5 million. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this Notice. Contract duration will be a base year and four option years. THIS IS STRICTLY MARKET RESEARCH THAT WILL ASSIST THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, BOSTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM PLAN THEIR ACQUISITION STRATEGY. Proposals will not be accepted at this time. General Statement of Need The information provided is NOT intended to be a solicitation for proposals but rather for potential small businesses in determining their capability to meet requirements. The exact locations of the equipment and other specifications will be addressed in the solicitation. Contractor shall provide complete removal, disposal and transportation of all Regulated Medical Waste for the VA Boston Healthcare System. The contractor shall furnish all personnel, materials, tools and equipment necessary to perform the task in accordance with the Schedule and to comply with all guidelines established by Federal, State and local laws and ordinances. 1. Regulated Medical Waste includes any waste material or article which harbors, or may reasonably be considered to harbor, pathogens which might be expected to produce disease in healthy individuals. Medical waste subject to these requirements includes waste that generally has been considered infectious or potentially infectious by the health care community, as well as waste originating from health care or research facilities that are aesthetically objectionable and thus, problematic when disposed of improperly. "Trace" antineoplastics and chemotherapeutic waste shall be included in the scope of this contract. "Bulk" antineoplastics and chemotherapeutic waste shall be managed as hazardous waste within the generating facility and disposed of through a separate contract. 2. This service will render waste non-recognizable and non-hazardous for disposal as fuel in electrical co-generation. It should be noted that the recycling of plastics is not available in this area. This service will include the following: a. Pathological and residually contaminated chemotherapy waste will be incinerated when packaged in corrugated boxes and labeled "Incinerate Only" with stickers provided by the contractor. b. Contractor to provide collection containers that are reusable, sealable, leak proof and puncture resistant with secure lids that can be used at point-of-generation collections/stations. 3. The contractor shall adhere to the apllicable regulations. Regulations stated should only be used as a guide and are not to be all regulations that the contractor must comply with. 4. The following is a listing and description of the medical wastes that are, at a minimum, included in the scope of this contract: a. Cultures and stocks: Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, including: cultures from medical and pathological laboratories; cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories; wastes from the production of biologicals; discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer inoculate and mix cultures. b. Pathological Waste: Human pathological wastes, including tissues, organs and body parts and body fluids that are removed during surgery or autopsy, or other medical procedures, and specimens of body fluids and their containers. Animal tissues, body parts and carcasses are included in this category. Excluded in this category are tissue samples in paraffin. c. Human blood and blood products: Liquid waste human blood and products of blood or items saturated and/or dripping with human blood, including serum, plasma and other blood components, and their containers, which were used or intended to be used in (l) patient care (e.g.blood bags); (2) testing and laboratory analysis; (3) development of pharmaceuticals; and other articles containing dried blood that can be scraped off. Intravenous bags are also included in this category. d. Isolation wastes: Biological waste and discarded materials contaminated with blood, excretion, exudates, or secretions from humans who are isolated to protect others from certain highly communicable diseases. 5. VA Boston Healthcare System employees shall: a. Identify, segregate and label regulated medical waste by placing the waste in plastic waste receptacle liners or containers that are marked with the international biohazard symbol and the wording "Infectious Waste" or "Biohazard Waste". b. Collect and handle red bags filled with regulated medical waste by placing the bags of waste inside the containers provided by the contractor. VA Boston Healthcare System employees shall seal the containers filled with medical waste and transport the containers to the designated staging area at each campus or outpatient clinic. 6. Contractor shall: a. Provide the participating facilities with sufficient amounts of collection containers, reusable, with lids that are sturdy, rigid, leak proof, impervious, on wheels and have the capability of being sealed. The collection containers shall be from 23 to 120 gallon containers with a locking lid to snap on when ready for transport. All containers 40 gallons or greater shall be equipped with wheels. Exterior walls of the containers shall be identified with the international biohazard symbol and the wording "Infectious Waste" or "Biohazard Waste". Collection containers shall have flip top lids, foot operated lids for use during loading at collection site. b. Contractor to provide waste generator labels for the following: i. PATHOLOGICAL ii. ANTINEOPLASTIC or CHEMO WASTE iii. REGULATED MEDICAL WASTE c. Contractor shall remove regulated medical waste using only properly permitted and licensed trucks and drivers. Contractor shall be required to remove all regulated waste as required by each participating facility as defined below. Contractor shall also respond to a request from the Contractor Officer's Technical Representative (C.O.T.R.) to pick up unusually large accumulations of regulated medical waste at the storage facility indicated within eight (8) hours of notification. Disposal charge does not include the weight of the reusable tubs or lids. d. Contractor shall transport the containers by methods and procedures that fully comply with all local, state and federal rules and regulations. The contractor shall furnish the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative with a fully detailed description of the methodology that shall be used to transport, treat and dispose of the waste. e. Contractor to provide packaging materials required for the next pick-up. The contractor is also advised there is a lack of storage space available at the Jamaica Plain Campus, therefore the contractor shall provide a staged trailer at that location for storage of medical waste between pick-ups. f. Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative with a copy of the manifest, which includes the generator and transporter information for each load of waste. The manifest shall be provided to the Government each time the waste is removed from each campus or outpatient clinic. Each manifest shall include, but not be limited tom the following information. i. (l) GENERATOR INFORMATION 1. Name 2. Address 3. Telephone Number 4. Description of waste 5. The quantity of medical waste in pounds (tare weight). Also, include the number of canisters or containers, cubic feet, and identification on each contained (i.e., barcode ID or ID sticker) for each facility location. (2) TRANSPORTER INFORMATION 1. Truck number 2. Transporter name 3. Address 4. Telephone Number 5. Driver name 6. Vehicle license number and state 7. Vehicle certification (3) DESTINATION INFORMATION 1. Site name 2. Address 3. Telephone number There shall be certification on the manifest by signature and date that the waste was picked up at the generator site, and additional certification that the waste was delivered without incident to the approved destination. g. Within five (5) working days of the time the waste has reached its destination, contactor shall provide the government with a matching completed manifest that includes destination and/or appropriate destruction information. Document numbers and information on the two documents shall match. There shall be final certification by the destination-authorized agent by signature and date that the waste was accepted and all the information was correct. h. The contractor will leave one copy of the manifest with the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (C.O.T.R.) at the time of the pick-up showing the quantity picked up. The completed manifests will be returned within Thirty (30) days in compliance with Massachusetts State Regulations. i. Contractor shall maintain licenses and/or permits required by Federal, State, City and County laws and regulations. The contractor shall assume full responsibility for compliance with all Federal, State, City and County laws, rules and regulations governing regulated medical waste and its destruction. 7. Training: Within 30 days of contact award, contactor shall provide a documented In-Service Training Program to participating facility employees that shall include applicable: a. State and local regulations b. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Center for Disease Control (CDC); Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and standards. c. Medical Waste Stream - policies and procedures to include: d. Identification, segregation and labeling e. Collection, handling and transport f. Storage, treatment and disposal/recovery g. Record keeping/tracking and risk management The contractor shall obtain signatures and social security numbers of all trainees and issue certificates of completion to all trainees who have successfully completed the training. Signatures and social security numbers and copies of each certificate shall be provided to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative. 8. Waste Stream Analysis: Within 60 days after completion of training identified above, contractor shall conduct a waste-stream analysis of the participating facilities Regulated Medical Waste. The analysis shall be based on the policies and procedures of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and Joint Commission for Accreditation of Hospital Organizational (JCAHO) recommendations. The waste stream analysis shall include any suggestions for waste reduction with the Medical Centers. Locations of services: o VA Medical Center (Jamaica Plain Campus) o VA Medical Center (West Roxbury Campus) o VA Medical Center (Brockton Campus) o VA Outpatient Clinic o VA Outpatient Clinic o VA Outpatient Clinic Pick-ups will be made every week at the main campuses, but every other week at the Outpatient Clinics. All qualified and interested small businesses should notify this office in writing (phone calls will not be accepted) by first-class mail (or email to contact@example.gov) on or before 10:00 a.m. EST on Augut 13, 2009. Responses should include: 1) identification and verification of the company certified by the Small Business Administration and indicating socio-economic category 2) a positive statement of your intent to submit a proposal for the solicitation. This is NOT a Request for Proposals and does NOT constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market research/Sources Sought Notice. Responding small businesses should have an active CCR registration, DUNS number and up to date ORCA registrations. SDVOSBs and VOSBs MUST be registered in VetBiz.gov.