***Note:  On January 22, 2013, this Sources Sought Notice was amended.  The purpose of this amendment is to advise the reference number was changed from HT94040001 to HT9404-13-R-0020.  This notice will be reposted under the new number. 

All other information will remain unchanged at this time.

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***Note:  The Purpose of this Sources Sought Modification Notice is to:
1)  Change the Title from "Refueling Irradiator" to "Remove the Cobalt Source, and Replace the Cobalt Source."
2)  Change Mr. Beck's e-mail address from [email protected], to [email protected] 

All other information will remain unchanged at this time.
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The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), located on the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Bethesda, MD, has a potential requirement to replace the current cobalt-60 source with a new cobalt-60 source.

This is not a pre-solicitation notice and should not constitute as a Request for Proposals, Request for Quotations; nor construed as a commitment by the Government of any future action. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to seek feedback from the industry that identifies multiple sources, find interested vendors to foster competition, and to prepare the appropriate acquisition decision about soliciting this requirement as either a competitive set-aside or full and open; or proceed as negotiated sole source procurement. The Government is seeking firms relative to the North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) 334517 - Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing with a size standard of 500 employees.

The scope of work involves installing new cobalt sources and removing the existing sources for disposal. The Government is seeking commercial services to provide the following services:
1. Design and Build:

a. Provide new Co-60 source cassette assemblies (not to exceed 350,000 curies) to produce the following dose rate distributions using the existing bi-lateral source elevators.

Field size 80 cm high x 100 cm wide

Distance between source assemblies (cm) Dose Rate (cGy/min)

400 10, 40, 100
250 250, 1000
100 1500, 5000

Field size 50 cm high x 50 cm wide

Distance between source assemblies (cm) Dose Rate (cGy/min)

50 4500, 25000 (or max achievable)

2. Vendor will provide three dummy source assemblies.
3. Source cassettes must match existing configuration. Drawings available upon request.
2. Installation:
1. Procure Co-60 source elements (350,000 curies) compatible with source cassettes.
2. Surface contamination on outer cladding <0.005 micro Ci/source.
3. Vendor will transport, ship, and place source assemblies into existing source pool.
4. The Government will perform surface contamination acceptance testing of the source transport container prior to refueling.
5. Vendor will provide all handling tools and associated drawings necessary to perform all cassette and source element loading and unloading evolutions.
6. Vendor will decontaminate pool/facility to <0.005 micro Ci.
7. Cobalt Facility roof access port will be disassembled and restored to weather tight configuration before completion of the refueling evolution.

3. Validation:
1. Vendor will provide all dosimetry required to characterize the facility prior to use.
2. The Government will provide acceptance testing to verify the required dose rate distributions.

4. Source Removal
1. Remove and take possession of 32 existing Co-60 sealed sources. Information regarding these sources provided upon request.
2. Vendor will remove, transport, and ship the sources from the Cobalt Irradiator pool.
3. It is the responsibility of the vendor to ensure that all activities associated with this contract comply with all applicable regulations and license conditions.
4. Cobalt Facility roof access port will be disassembled and restored to weather tight configuration before completion of the source removal evolution.
5. At no time during the source removal process will the transfer cask be allowed to contact the pool bottom.
All requested services should comply with all applicable Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations, Federal rules and regulations and the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS REQUIRED:
1. Name of firm with address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and point of contact.
2. State if your company is a Hubzone Small Business, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Women-owned small business, Small Disadvantaged business, and 8(a).
3. Qualifications: Responses to this sources sought synopsis shall indicate specialized experience in installing a new cobalt source and removing the existing source for disposal.
4. Submission Requirements: Firms submitting responses shall present their information in a matrix format showing relevant contracts that are similar in scope that they have performed. The matrix shall show the most recent, up to five projects, that prove you can meet each qualification criteria listed above with contract number, project location, description of work requirements, contact and phone number for each effort, etc.

Direct any questions or inquiries in writing by January 23, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. (EST), to Steve Beck, Contract Specialist, via e-mail address, [email protected], ATTN: AFRRI-Source Installation. Questions will not be answered over the phone and questions submitted after the due date will not be addressed.
If you can meet all of the requirements for this project, please respond to this sources sought notice by January 31, 2013 either by fax or e-mail to the attention of Mr. Steve Beck, Contract Specialist, Fax: 301-295-1716 or e-mail at [email protected], ATTN: AFRRI-Source Installation. Responses must be received no later than 3:30 p.m. EST.
**Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Please visit the FBO website at www.fbo.gov for future contract opportunities.**

Bid Protests Not Available