Delivery of Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD), Morgantown, WV.

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), is seeking information on a potential requirement for Delivery of Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD), Morgantown, WV. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the NAICS code 325120 – Industrial Gas Manufacturing for the potential acquisition. Responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. See DRAFT Sample Performance Work Statement (subject to change). Anticipated period of performance. Base of one (1) year with four (4), one (1) year options. Contract Type: anticipated Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) – Firm Fixed price Capability statement /information sought. Respondents who believe that they possess the expertise and experience to meet the government’s needs as described above are invited to submit technical and management capabilities addressing those requirements. These may include but are not limited to: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. Respondent must indicate in your capability statement: Organization name, Address, DUNS number, Business size Classification (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code of 325120 – Industrial Gas Manufacturing size standard which is 1000 . Points of contact, Email, Telephone number, Page Limitation: No more than five (5) pages, 8 ½ x 11. Response Due Date: Submit information above to Diane J Meeder, Contracting [email protected]. Reference: HHS-CDC-NIOSH(DM)-SBSS-22-61564 . Responses are due no later than 12:00 pm, December 21, 2021 Eastern Time Local. Any information received by the government will not be returned. Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be posted on Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). Description/Specification/Work Statement Performance Work Statement (PWS) Title: Delivery of Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD)”. C. 1. BACKGROUND The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the U.S. federal agency for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. The Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD) located in Morgantown, WV is at the forefront of this effort and is the strategic organization in NIOSH tasked to scientifically establish mechanisms of diseases and injury in the workplace. Using advanced laboratory science and innovative techniques, HELD scientists and the work conducted in its laboratories continue to help improve occupational health and safety for the US worker. HELD’s repository of valuable clinical and cell culture samples that are critical to the NIOSH mission require liquid nitrogen for long term storage. The NIOSH Morgantown H building is equipped with three Taylor-Wharton Model 20K liquid nitrogen cryopreservation tanks that are connected and filled via a vendor supplied 2000 L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen tank. This facility provides a suite of services to HELD laboratorians that focuses on the diverse sample management needs of the division, including disposition, management of all liquid nitrogen-related activities, around-the-clock monitoring and response, storage, and the provision of policy-required by the CDC. HELD also requires an ongoing supply of dry ice for planned experiments and to preserve samples being shipped or moved. It is essential for the operation of HELD that the supply of liquid nitrogen and dry ice to be continuous and uninterrupted. Running out of liquid nitrogen and dry ice could damage, delay or even compromise ongoing laboratory studies and damage or contaminate long-term stored samples that are irreplaceable. C.2. PURPOSE The purpose of this Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is to lease a 2000 L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen tank supplied by the vendor and to ensure that HELD has an uninterrupted adequate supply of liquid nitrogen and dry ice at the NIOSH Morgantown campus. C.3. SCOPE OF WORK The contractor shall provide all necessary services, tools, equipment, qualified personnel, transportation, tools, supplies, and equipment necessary to ensure HELD has an ongoing adequate supply of liquid nitrogen and dry ice. During the period of performance of this contract, the contractor is required to meet the following deliverables: Installation of vendor supplied 2000L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen Tank (delivery, setup, installation, and maintaining operation), monitoring of liquid nitrogen levels using vendor supplied mobile/cellular telemetry that is not connected to the NIOSH facility, ongoing liquid nitrogen delivery, preventive maintenance, ongoing dry ice delivery and the annual report. Refer to Section C.7 (Deliverables) for details. The contractor shall provide an annual report that details all work completed on the contract for each performance period broken down by month to include deliveries, consumption, and any preventative maintenance completed. C.4. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS The contractor shall perform each of the specified tasks below: TASK 1: Supply 2000 L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen Tank Requirement: The vendor shall supply, install, and connect a 2000 L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen tank that will be leased throughout the duration of the performance period. The tank will be located in a dedicated area external to the NIOSH Morgantown H building and adjacent to the shipping dock. The tank shall fit within the dedicated tank pad dimensions of 53”x 53”. The vendor supplied tank cannot exceed 56”x 56” and the fill height is 48” for the ground and it can be as high as 54”. The supplied bulk storage Tank must be equipped with a pressure regulator so inlet pressure to the cryopreservation does not exceed 22 psig (1.5 bar/152kPal). The bulk tanks shall be connected to existing HELD liquid nitrogen infrastructure that supplies the HELD liquid nitrogen repository that consists of 3 Taylor-Wharton Model 20K cryopreservation tanks that contain biological specimens. The contractor shall perform periodic maintenance and servicing on the 2000 L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen tank to ensure an adequate supply of liquid nitrogen is continuously delivered throughout the performance period. TASK 2: Manage and Supply Liquid Nitrogen Requirement: The contractor shall ensure that the fill level requirements described in Table 1 are met for the liquid nitrogen tank installed at the NIOSH Morgantown H Building. The contractor shall provide liquid nitrogen that meets or exceeds the purity specifications described in Table 2. The inlet pressure should not exceed 22 psig (1.5bar/152 kPa). The contractor shall deliver as often as needed to maintain the levels and within 5 days of reaching the minimum fill level (see Table 3 for historical usage summary). The contractor shall remotely monitor the level of liquid nitrogen in the bulk tank described in Table 1 using a vendor supplied telemetry device that communicates directly with the vendor via cellular connection to ensure the liquid nitrogen level meet the requirements of this agreement. The vendor supplied telemetry devices are not to be connected to NIOSH. The contractor shall give HELD access to liquid nitrogen level readings in real time from the telemetry systems via access to an online web portal. Deliveries shall be made to the NIOSH Morgantown campus only between the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm Monday-Friday, and not on federal holidays. The contractor shall provide the names to the designated contacts of all delivery drivers at least 4 days prior to delivery to ensure that all drivers and trucks are able to enter the secure NIOSH Morgantown campus facility. Truck drivers must be U.S. Citizens. The contractor shall include a delivery order noting the amount of liquid nitrogen filled with each delivery as specified in Section 7. The contractor shall be prepared to respond, on a 24-hour basis to reports of any malfunction of the vendor supplied 2000 L Microbulk Liquid Nitrogen tank at the NIOSH Morgantown facility. The contractor shall establish an emergency point of contact to be given to NIOSH designated contacts and be prepared to respond to alert of emergency within one hour of the initial emergency report. The contractor shall then determine the situation and take appropriate action to ensure that the NIOSH facilities and equipment are not compromised, liquid nitrogen is not unnecessarily expended, and NIOSH has a usable supply of liquid nitrogen. The contractor shall communicate the advised plan of action to HELD designated contacts and the COR via phone and e-mail as soon as possible but within four hours, at the maximum. The contractor shall perform an annual inspection of the vendor supplied liquid nitrogen storage tank (Table 1) and deliver report of findings to HELD designated contacts and the COR. The contractor shall ensure that the supplied liquid nitrogen storage tank, associated regulators, and telemetry are in proper working order at all times and shall perform any preventative maintenance, repairs, or replacement that may be needed for optimal performance and to prevent leaks or incidents at no additional cost to the Government. The contractor shall provide expertise in the supply and management of liquid nitrogen and is encouraged to recommend methods that would result in efficiencies or cost savings. Table 1. HELD Liquid Nitrogen Tank Fill Specifications Building: NIOSH Morgantown H Building, Type- Bulk, Capacity (liters) - 2000, Not to go below - 25%, Frequency of check At all times using remote telemetry – fill within 5 days of reaching minimum fill level. Table 2. Liquid Nitrogen Purity Specifications Liquid Nitrogen Component :Purity Specification Nitrogen: ≥ 99.999% Oxygen: < 5.0 ppm Odor:None Table 3. Liquid Nitrogen Consumption History (standard cubic feet) at the NIOSH Morgantown Campus 2020 - Month:Quantity Liquid Nitrogen Delivered (scf) Jan-20:81100 Feb-20:49200 Mar-20:32000 Apr-20:45400 May-20:68700 Jun-20:30000 Jul-20:59600 Aug-20:38000 Sep-20:34200 Oct-20:21300 Nov-20:43000 Dec-20:38000 Total - 575100 2021 - Month:Quantity Liquid Nitrogen Delivered (scf) Jan-21:48000 Feb-21:44000 Mar-21:17000 Apr-21:74000 May-21:30000 Jun-21:95000 Jul-21:212000 Aug-21:57000 Sep-21:31500 Oct-21:0 Nov-21:0 Dec-21:0 Total - 603900 TASK 3: Manage and Supply Dry Ice Requirement: HELD requires a reliable ongoing supply of dry ice for its various laboratory operations, execution of clinical and cell culture experiments, and for maintaining samples that are to be transported. The contractor shall: Supply dry ice at weekly intervals as high-density pellets to a designated location outside of H Building on the NIOSH Morgantown campus (see Table 4). Current deliveries are approximately 200 lbs per week (800 lbs. per month) and delivered once per week on a Tuesday. Track consumption and develop a system to optimize deliveries to ensure there is never a shortage of dry ice, and that dry ice is not being wasted. Table 4. HELD Dry Ice Bin Fill Specifications Form of dry ice - Historical weekly usage - Distribution of bins* Pellets - 1 blue bin* - 1 blue bin on the H building loading dock of the NIOSH Morgantown campus * Historically, the blue bin used at the NIOSH Morgantown campus has a capacity of 300 lbs. of dry ice pellets. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE All work will be performed at the NIOSH Morgantown facility located at the following address CDC NIOSH Morgantown Campus 1095 Willowdale Road Morgantown, WV 26505