Contamination and filtration assessment of filtering facepiece respirators.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE AN ORDER/CONTRACT. This is not a request for competitive proposals/quotes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), hereby announces its intent to issue a sole source order/contract to Applied Research Associates Inc (ARA), 4300 San Mateo Blvd NE Ste A-220, Albuquerque, NM 87110. The NAICS code for this acquisition is 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, with a size standard of $16.5 million. “HHS reserves the right to exercise priorities and allocations authority with respect to this contract, to include rating this order in accordance with 45 CFR Part 101, Subpart A— Health Resources Priorities and Allocations System.” ARA has developed multiple ASTM methods to evaluate FFR contamination and decontamination efficiency. In particular, ARA has developed methods to extract virus from FFRs which may be difficult given the particle retention efficiency of electrostatic media. Contamination and filtration assessment of filtering facepiece respirators. The contractor will receive respirators with de-identified information about the number of donnings, length of wear, location, etc from site participating in the prospective cohort study titled A Clinical Examination of N95 Reuse and Extended Use . The contractor will assess the contamination and/or filtration performance of a minimum of 500 respirators as per the NIOSH approved protocol provided by the contractor. Task 1. Draft a research protocol and obtain NIOSH approval of protocol The contractor will provide NIOSH with a draft copy of the protocol for review. NIOSH will review the protocol and provide comments to the contractor. The contractor will provide NIOSH with a revised protocol for review. NIOSH will provide the final approval of the study protocol. Task 2. FFR Filtration Efficiency – FFRs received from participants will be evaluated for filtration performance using a TSI-8130. FFRs will be waxed to a plate then evaluated for penetration and pressure drop at 85 LPM. Task 3. FFR SARS-COV-02 Nucleic Acids – The FFRs will be evaluated for the presence of SARS-COV-02 nucleic acids by performing quantitative PCR studies. Task 4. Data Analysis and reporting – The contractor will provide monthly summary reports and a final report for the project. ARA will also participate with NIOSH and other collaborators to produce at least one peer reviewed journal article. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE Period of performance 12 months. This action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of the Class J&A for COVID-19 Response in conjunction with FAR 13.106-1(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit quotations. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, all quotations/responses received within three (3) days of the issuance of this notice will be considered by the government. A determination by the government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any quotation/response should be emailed to Diane Meeder, Contracting Officer, CDC, OAS, at [email protected]. Any responses should be emailed to Diane Meeder at [email protected] by Aug 17, 2020 at 12:00 P.M. ET .