A--Development of System for Dry Inoculation of Building Material Coupons

This is a supplement to Fedbizopps sources sought synopsis PR-CI-06-10372 first posted on March 1, 2006. After evaluation of responses to the sources sought notice, the U.S. EPA hereby issues this pre-solicitation notice. The solicitation PR-CI-06-10372 will be competed using full & open competition. The Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be issued around April 1 and close 30 days thereafter. It will be available on the Internet at www.epa.gov/oam/cinn_cmd. Interested parties are expected to download the solicitation and subsequent amendments from the web site. Hard copies will not be distributed. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to frequently check the site for amendments. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by EPA. A fixed-price contract award will be made on or around June 1, 2006 in accordance with FAR Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The applicable NAICS code is 541710. A summary of the technical requirements, as posted in the sources sought notice are as follows: The U.S. EPA?s National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is currently investigating various decontamination technologies for high value building materials contaminated with Bacillus anthracis. Current on-going studies inoculate building material coupons using a syringe (liquid droplets). However, the likely dissemination method for B. anthracis is aerosol dispersion, thus building materials will be contaminated by dry deposition. Liquid inoculation may yield non-comparable decontamination efficacy results to actual event decontamination efforts for porous materials such as cinder block and wood. A system for the dry inoculation of building material coupons is needed to ensure comparable efficacy results during decontamination efforts. In response to the need for reproducibly dosing building material coupons with dry B. anthracis, the U.S. EPA/NHSRC?s Decontamination and Consequence Management Division (DCMD) is seeking to develop an aerosol deposition system for use in the systematic decontamination studies. The system shall be able to reproducibly (within 20%) dose coupons with user defined spore loadings in the range of 102 - 108 spores per coupon (7 cm2). The terminal velocities of these spores shall mimic those expected in an anthrax release. The system shall be applicable to all building materials of interest, specifically: painted and unpainted cinder block, stainless steel ductwork, industrial carpet, decorative laminate, ceiling tile, painted wallboard, and glass. The system shall be able to dose at least twenty-five 20 mm x 35 mm coupons during a single deposition and the coupons shall be easy to remove, ensuring minimal disruption of the deposited particulate matter. As the B. anthracis innoculant is limited in availability, the deposition process must be efficient so as to conserve inocculant. The deposition system shall be entirely contained to prevent environmental interference and contamination. The system shall be both portable and autoclavable. The performance of the aerosol deposition system shall be evaluated with a suitable surrogate for B. anthracis that is 1-3 ?m in diameter. Uniformity of the aerosol deposition and reproducibility of coupon dosing shall be determined using Scanning Electron Microscopy or another comparable technology. The ability for the system to deliver the needed concentrations of the spores to the building material coupons will be accessed here at the EPA and if the aerosol delivery system is unable to meet the specifications listed in the statement of work then the system shall be modified until it fulfills these requirements.