SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Chemical Monitoring for Organic Vapors in Respirator Cartridges
- Notice Date
- 5/12/2011
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 611310
— Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers 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
- 2011-Q-13443
- Archive Date
- 8/31/2011
- Point of Contact
- Margaret L Mooney,
- E-Mail Address
-
zia3@cdc.gov
(zia3@cdc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE A PURCHASE ORDER. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) hereby announces its intent to issue a purchase order to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for Chemical Monitoring for Organic Vapors in Respirator Cartridges. Background and Scope: NIOSH approves respirators for the protection of workers against airborne contaminants. In 1998, OSHA revised its regulations on how chemical cartridges for respirators are selected and used. The new regulations require either end-of-service-life indicators (ESLI) or change out schedules to determine when cartridges must be replaced. Such schedules rely on mathematical models that are subject to environmental uncertainties. ESLI are not widely available and there are no ESLI's for organic vapors. As a result, cartridges are either replaced too frequently and hence add to the cost of protection or not frequently enough which can result in worker overexposure. In the former case, excessive cost could lead to less frequent change outs. Hence, either approach may result in reduced respiratory protection for the affected workers. The proposed project uses an emerging technology known as microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) devices to constantly monitor the loading condition of a cartridge. This device will generate information to provide the user with information about the condition of his/her cartridge. It is anticipated that this technology can be implemented in a cost effective manner and will provide the user with accurate feedback pertaining to the end of life of the respirator cartridge in use. Description of Research Chemical sensors have been developed for integration in monolithic complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies as a low-cost platform for monitoring toxic gases and vapors in respirators. The approach was to merge chemically sensitive nanostructured polymers or mono layer protected metal nano particles with CMOS microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), where both base technologies already exist at Carnegie Mellon. Monolayer protected nanoparticles were synthesized and deposited on prefabricated electronic and MEMS devices. Several sensor modalities have been explored, including conductivity changes and gravimetric changes as a function of gas and vapor concentrations. However, the focus in this project will be exploring improvements in conductivity measurements by adding a preconcentrator to the system. This work will also entail the development and construction of an electronics package that will operate the capcitive chemical sensor that CMU developed under a previous contract. The major tasks will consist of the following: Tests will be conducted on existing preconcentrator samples with pore coatings in our vapor flow testbed. The test bed has been updated with hardware to enable very low flow rates necessary for lab testing of the preconcentrator. VOC vapors from the preconcentrator will be monitored downstream with chemical sensors, such as chemiresistor or chemicapacitor. The tests will provide output pulse vapor concentration vs time. Evaluation of the data is expected to provide a quantitative assessment of the concentration amplification from the preconcentrator unit. Responsible sources that believe they possess the expertise and capabilities identified above are encouraged to submit to the Contracting Officer within 15 days from the posting date of this notice, their written item description/item characteristics and pricing information in the format they choose, not to exceed 10 pages. Please forward the item description and pricing information to Margaret L. Mooney, CDC NIOSH, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, Reference 2011-Q-13443. All vendors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) prior to an award of a federal contract. The website is: www.ccr.gov. The Government will review any/all item descriptions and pricing information submitted and determine if other qualified sources do exist that could provide this requirement. Information received in response will be used solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. If no affirmative responses are received within 15 days, in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), negotiations will be conducted with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 as the only source and a purchase order will be issued without any additional notices being posted.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/CDCP/CMBP/2011-Q-13443/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213-3890, United States
- Zip Code: 15213-3890
- Zip Code: 15213-3890
- Record
- SN02446583-W 20110514/110512234746-85f1207688987800783f1317f2e4cea9 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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