Description
THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION IS MODIFIED TO EXTEND THE RESPONSE DATE TO 30 SEP 2015 FROM 7 SEP 2015 Currently, industrial and military chemical/biological (CB) protective clothing systems and protective materials that meet the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 1991 standard are commercially available to protect emergency responders and US Warfighters operating Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) and CB warfare agent contaminated environments. However, current Level A suits are not optimized for use in military tactical environments especially due to their limited durability, noise, and excessively bulky designs. The US Army Natick Soldier, Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) is gathering information (to include supporting data) on state-of the art commercially available materials, as well as developmental materials that are emerging and meet/exceed NFPA 1991 certification. Information is sought on materials that are more suitable for military tactical operations that in addition will offer CB Warfare agent protection along with increased durability and lower noise signature necessary for increased protection, operational comfort and suitability. Additional interest will be to assess emerging and commercial protective materials and clothing systems meeting NFPA 1991 (i.e., equivalent to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Level A, and which was also known formerly as NFPA 1994 Level 1). NFPA 1991 certified material swatches and information should be submitted by 31 August 2015. Materials, technical data, and or information on NFPA 1991 emerging/novel material should be submitted by 7 Sep 2015. Identify if the materials are currently commercially available or developmental; meet/have been verified to meet NFPA 1991 requirements; show protection against CB Warfare agents (if so, identify agents, challenge level, and performance); and show suitability for use in military tactical environments. All information provided in response to this Request for Information, must be marked accordingly if it is proprietary information. Responses to this Request for Information are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any information/samples submitted will not be returned, and no payment will be made by the government for such information/samples. Any testing results will be controlled and used for governmental purposes only. Material samples (size: 8.5 quote mark x11 quote mark ), and technical information (on a CD) are to be submitted to: Ms. Claudette Sousa, US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Warfigher Directorate, ATTN: RDNS-SEW-TMC, 15 General Greene Avenue, Natick, MA 01760. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. No solicitation document exists.