Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MAY 01, 2008 FBO #2348
DOCUMENT

R -- Technical Support for Advisory Board on Radiation and Workers Health Review of Dose Reconstruction Program - SOW

Notice Date

4/29/2008
 

Notice Type

SOW
 

NAICS

541690 — Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Acquisition and Assistance Field Branch (Pittsburgh), Post Office Box 18070, Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15236-0070
 

ZIP Code

15236-0070
 

Solicitation Number

2008-N-10428
 

Point of Contact

David L Staudt,, Phone: 412-386-6459
 

E-Mail Address

dstaudt@cdc.gov
 

Small Business Set-Aside

Total Small Business
 

Description

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP), INVITATION FOR BID (IFB), REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ), REQUEST FOR APPLICATION (RFA) OR AN ANNOUNCEMNT OF A SOLICITATION AND DOES NOT ASSUME THE GOVERNMENT WILL AWARD A CONTRACT OR PROCEED WITH ANY OF THE ABOVE SOLICITATIONS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THIS NOTICE IS ONLY FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES. Based on capability statements received from SMALL BUSINESSES ONLY from this announcement, this acquisition may be solicited as a 100% Small Business Set-Aside or as a full and open competition. The NAICS Code is 541690. All Small Business Concerns, including 8(a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women owned small business are encouraged to respond to this notice. HHS is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The Department oversees more than 300 programs covering a wide spectrum of activities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the near future on behalf of the, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The CDC intends to re-compete the Technical Support for the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health's Review of NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program contract, CDC contract number 200-2004-03805. Firms that have Conflicts of Interests while perfroming work under the NIOSH ORAU Dose Reconstruction Contract or other inherit Conflict of Interest will not be considered. The draft Statement of Work is attached. Interested parties may view a full spectrum of documents on the program at the NIOSH internet site - http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/. The CDC Office of Compensation Analysis and Support (OCAS) is responsible for conducting individual dose reconstructions on employees of the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies, its contractors and subcontractors, and Atomic Weapons Employers (AWEs) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA). To support NIOSH's role under EEOICPA, OCAS has retained the services of a contractor to assist in the implementation of a number of major program elements. Under EEOICPA, the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (Advisory Board), is required to review a reasonable sample of dose reconstructions for scientific validity and quality, assess the methods for dose reconstruction, and review Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petitions. To support the Advisory Board, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requires the services of a contractor to assist in the implementation of a number of tasks related to independent review of the dose reconstruction process. Please note that failure to specifically address each of the items below in your capability statement may affect further consideration of your capability to successfully perform the requirement. The capability statement shall be in sufficient enough detail so that the Government can determine the capability of your firm. The capability statement must specifically address ALL of the following information; otherwise no further evaluation of your capability statement will be performed. The capability statement must demonstrate that your organization/company has the skills/qualifications for the following general requirements: A. Individual dose reconstructions review The contractor shall evaluate whether or not the reconstruction of dose provides a reasonable estimate of the dose (as needed to adjudicate the claim). The contractor shall evaluate and recommend whether or not the assumptions (individual case assumptions and assumptions applicable to multiple cases) made for dose reconstruction are appropriate and defensible for purposes of this program. The contractor shall evaluate whether or not the data from DOE or other sources is of sufficient quality necessary to obtain a reasonable estimate of dose. The contractor shall evaluate whether or not the dose reconstruction was performed fairly using NIOSH guidelines and in a manner consistent with other cases. The contractor shall review all relevant dose reconstruction methodologies and/or procedures employed by NIOSH / NIOSH contractors in conducting individual dose reconstructions and SEC petitions. The contractor shall evaluate whether methodologies and procedures are consistent with requirements under 42 CFR 82 and whether there are sufficient procedures to achieve consistent application of the requirements in 42 CFR 82. The contractor shall conduct one of three different levels of review on the selected cases: 1) Basic Review, 2) Advanced Review, or 3) Blind Review. The method of review will be determined by the Advisory Board. The number of individual dose reconstruction reviews is estimated to be approximately 62 in the first year. It is expected that there will be approximately 30 Basic Review cases, 30 Advanced Review cases and 2 Blind Review cases. The next four years will also involve a review of approximately 62 cases per year. The breakdown of cases will be the same as described for the first year. The Advisory Board shall determine the cases to be reviewed and the level of review. These percentages are subject to change by the Advisory Board based on experience with the review process. The elements of each type of review are detailed below: 1. Basic Review A. Review Data Collection Evaluate whether NIOSH received all requested data for the DOE or AWE site from any relevant data source or repository Evaluate whether the data used by NIOSH for the case was adequate to make a determination with regard to probability of causation. B. Review Interview and Documentation provided by claimant Evaluate whether NIOSH appropriately addressed all of the reported work history and events represented by the claimant including but not limited to a) incidents or occurrences, b) actual monitoring practices, c) personal protection practices, and d) work practices Assure that interview information is consistent with data used for the dose estimate, and if not, evaluate whether reasonable justification is provided. Review Internal and External Dose Estimates Evaluate whether all assumptions used in the dose determination are appropriate for a remedial compensation program and whether the benefit of the doubt was resolved in favor of the claimant Verify dose calculations are appropriate for purposes of determination of Probability of Causation (POC) Evaluate whether the data were consistent with site radiological monitoring protocols of the time period. Evaluate the treatment of ‘missed dose' and/or ‘unmonitored dose' if relevant to the case. The review of each dose reconstruction shall include an evaluation of all relevant portions of the methods and/or procedures used by NIOSH. This includes, but is not limited to: Review the internal and external radiation dose reconstruction technical basis documents, Review of methods for estimating ‘missed dose' and ‘un-monitored dose' (for cases related to monitoring technology and for cases where monitoring was not performed, monitoring data is not available or incomplete or otherwise inadequate), Review of the statistical approaches developed for multiple dose reconstructions, Review procedures used for determining whether data are sufficient to make a reasonable dose estimate, Review methods or procedures used for substituting exposure information for unavailable or incomplete information, Review methods for estimating uncertainty in dose and uncertainty distributions surrounding internal and external dose reconstructions on a facility and time specific basis and evaluate whether the benefit of the doubt was resolved in favor of the claimant where there were uncertainties, Review procedures and questionnaire used for work history phone interview, and Review the NIOSH methods, procedures and performance in evaluating, analyzing and validating all contractor work products. 2. Advanced Review The Advanced Review will include all task items in the Basic Review along with the additional tasks listed below: Review Data Gathering Review the entire administrative record to evaluate if relevant information exists which was not considered by NIOSH. Review the relevant aspects of the Site Profile as they apply to the individual case and evaluate the adequacy and completeness of the site profile and evaluate whether the information from the site profile is consistent with the information used for the individual dose estimate. Evaluate whether, to the extent practicable, all relevant sources of data (e.g., DOE, AWE, CDC, Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML), Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( NRC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), External Health and Safety Regulators, Government Accounting Office (GAO), Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), Congressional Hearing Records, other research programs, research publications, publications regarding the history of the DOE complex, or administrative/court records) were identified, evaluated and where appropriate, included within the Site Profile database and where appropriate were used in the assessment of the individual dose reconstruction case. Review Work History Interview and Documentation provided by claimant Evaluate the effectiveness of the phone interview in ascertaining relevant work history information. Evaluate whether, for the cases involving survivors, there has been an adequate effort to research co-located workers and other historical records to characterize the individual's work history. Review Internal and External Dose Estimates Evaluate whether the dose estimate is consistent with relevant radiological information within the NIOSH site profile (e.g. air monitoring, wipe data are consistent with bioassay results) Compare case information and assumptions with relevant co-worker case information and assumptions for consistency 3. Blind Dose Reconstruction Using all raw data available to NIOSH, the independent expert will develop an Interactive RadioEpidemiological Program ( IREP) dose input file that they feel is sufficient to make a determination with regard to POC. B. NIOSH OCAS ‘Site Profile' and ‘Worker Profile' Review As part of NIOSH's effort in completing individual dose reconstructions, NIOSH is establishing a ‘Site Profile' database for all covered sites. This database includes records relevant to dose reconstruction other than the personnel dosimetry records (e.g. - process information, characterization information, incident or occurrence reports, summary dosimetric information, etc.). The contractor shall review selected site profiles established by NIOSH to evaluate the quality and completeness of the profiles and the adequacy of the data for purposes of individual dose reconstructions. The contractor shall review the conditions, processes, practices and incidents at selected DOE and AWE facilities covered under EEOICPA to evaluate the adequacy of the information available in the NIOSH Site Profile. The review should focus on whether the approach used by NIOSH assured completeness of data necessary for purposes of determining individual eligibility for compensation. The review should include a evaluation of whether NIOSH identified, evaluated and where appropriate incorporated all relevant data sources (e.g., DOE, AWE, CDC, EML, NRC, EPA, External Health and Safety Regulators, GAO, DNFSB, Congressional Hearing Records, other research programs, research publications, publications regarding the history of the DOE complex, or administrative/court records) within the site profile. One task in evaluating that the data identification and collection process were adequate may require the contractor to conduct interviews (one-on-one or group) with, employees, employee representatives, advocacy organizations, health and academic researchers and site ‘experts' (those with long standing knowledge of processes, materials, events, and exposures). The contractor may be required to conduct meetings with these individuals or groups at locations near the facilities of interest. As part of NIOSH's effort in completing individual dose reconstructions and SEC Petition evaluations, NIOSH is establishing a ‘Procedures' database to assist in the performance of such efforts. The contractor shall review selected "Procedures" established by NIOSH to evaluate the quality and completeness of the "Procedures" and the adequacy of the "Procedures" for purposes of individual dose reconstructions and SEC Petition evaluations. It is expected that there will be 30 "Procedures" Reviews and 6 Site Profile Reviews in the first year and in each subsequent year of the contract C. Review of SEC Petitions 42 CFR Part 83, Procedures for Designating Classes of Employees as Members of the Special Exposure Cohort under EEOICPA of 2000, describes the general procedures to be followed in the review of SEC Petitions. Section 83.15 describes how the Board will consider and advise the Secretary of HHS on a petition. The contractor shall evaluate Special Exposure Cohort petitions as requested consistent with the provisions of 83.14 and 83.15. Such reviews may focus on the availability and reliability of documents and monitoring data as well as an analysis of the methods proposed by NIOSH to accomplish individual dose reconstructions for members of a considered class. In cases where a site profile is available for a site in question the contractor will make use of such a document. In cases where no site profile is available the contractor will need to develop the basic information needed to evaluate the SEC Petition. In some cases it may be necessary for the contractor to interview workers and/or site experts to accomplish this task. At the recommendation of the Board, the contractor may be asked to review either the complete SEC Petition or just an aspect of the petition as designated by the Board. In a given year of contract performance, it is anticipated that the contractor will review three complete SEC Petitions and an aspect or aspects of three other petitions. The Contractor shall note if any staff have current Q Type Security clearances. The anticipated period of performance for this contract is 60 months. Interested organizations should submit their written capability statements by 10:00 a.m. on May 16, 2008 to the Contracting Officer at the following e-mail address: dstaudt@cdc.gov. Any questions must be submitted to the Contracting Officer in writing to the email address listed. Capability statements will not be accepted after the due date. Page Limit is 25 pages. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS MUST DEMONSTRATE THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED ABOVE. Capability statements must also include the following information: company name, address, point of contact, phone/fax/email, and business size and status (e.g., small business, 8(a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women owned small business). THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AND DOES NOT COMMIT THE GOVERNMENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT NOW OR IN THE FUTURE NOR OTHERWISE PAY FOR PREPARING ANY INFORMATION SENT OR THE GOVERNMENTS USE OF THE INFORMATION. Any proprietary information should be so marked. No solicitation is available at this time.
 

Web Link

FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=4ba95198b6240845ac9c2ca931ec4aa4&tab=core&_cview=1)
 

Document(s)

SOW
 

File Name: Draft SOW (SOW New Version 2.doc)

Link: https://www.fbo.gov//utils/view?id=5b954a2eaf2d238f8236beab5216b0bf

Bytes: 51.00 Kb
 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN01562870-W 20080501/080429215532-4ba95198b6240845ac9c2ca931ec4aa4 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

---

| FSG Index  |  This Issue's Index  |  Today's FBO Daily Index Page |