A -- FIRE FIGHTING FOAM CANDIDATES AS AQUEOUS FILM FORMING FOAM (AFFF) ALTERNATIVES

COMMERCE BUSINESS DAILY RELEASE The Naval Research Laboratory, in conjunction with Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, plans to evaluate environmentally friendly fire fighting foam candidates as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) alternatives. AFFF is used aboard Navy ships to combat liquid fuel fires. It is the best available agent for rapid fire extinguishing and burn back resistance of aviation, shipboard, chemical process and petrochemical hydrocarbon fuel fires. The very chemical structures of the agent that makes it effective for fire fighting also results in undesirable environmental consequences including: persistence in the environment, potential bioaccumulation in human tissues and toxicity at certain concentrations. Additionally, solvents in foam readily volatilize and discharge to interfere with wastewater treatment plants. The trend is clearly toward stricter regulation of the chemicals in AFFF and of the discharge of AFFF into the environment. The objective of this program is to identify foam(s) with firefighting performance similar to Military Specification AFFF with improved environmental characteristics. The program is scheduled to start in fiscal year 2003. The fire fighting performance, stability, foamability, and biodegradability will be evaluated to assess the suitability of submitted products as alternatives. All testing is expected to be funded by USN and be completed in FY2003. Interested vendors are invited to participate in this evaluation program and should submit letter of interest and data quantifying improved environmentally characteristics. Vendors are encouraged to submit non-fluorocarbon surfactant products. Vendors' Technical Point of Contact should be supplied for follow-up information. Offerors are requested to provide rough-order-of-magnitude estimates of the cost to develop the various technologies, as well as estimated development timeframe. Such estimates would be non-binding on the offerors. This announcement is a request for information and no contract will be awarded pursuant to this announcement. The requested information is for planning purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied, or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued nor will the government pay for the information solicited. Information may be submitted to: ATTN: Dr. Patricia A. Tatem, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6180, 4555 Overlook Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20375. Ph. +1 (555) 000-0000; email contact@example.gov. Please do not send any chemicals at this time. No telephone responses will be accepted.