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This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial supplies prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6 as supplemented with FAR 8 and additional information included in this notice. The incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-06.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION AND A SEPARATE SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED.

The Government intends to issue a Firm Fixed Price Task Order.

Set Aside: Small Business

NAICS Code: 325120

1. Background:

This is a non-personnel service contract to provide laboratory gases and liquefied laboratory gases and services as specified in this Statement or Work (SOW). The Government will not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.

1. Objectives:

The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) San Francisco Laboratory (ORA/ORS/SANFL), located in Alameda, California, conducts analysis of human and animal food, cosmetics and ceramicware in support of the FDA’s mission to protect public health. Laboratory grade gases are required for both the preparation of samples and the operation of analytical chemical instrumentation that is used for the analysis of samples. The data resulting from chemical analysis is evaluated and used by the agency to implement regulatory actions. The analysis of regulatory samples at SANFL fulfills the workplan goals of the facility and contributes to fulfilling the mission of the FDA.

1. Scope/Requirements/Deliverables:

The Government requires commercially available, consumable, high purity, and high-quality laboratory grade gases in compressed and liquid states on an “as needed” basis. Laboratory gases shall be contained in cylinders, liquefied laboratory gases contained in rolling Dewar’s and bulk liquid gases contained in outside bulk storage tanks with gas fill-up service. The containers used to house the gases must be constructed of suitable materials for the chemical analysis that the gases are being used to facilitate.

1. Tasks and Minimum Requirements

The Contractor shall perform to the standards and requirements listed in the details below:

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, manifests, shipping papers, materials, documentation, supervision and other items and non-personal services necessary to provide the required laboratory gases and liquified gases as defined in this Statement of Work.

The Contractor shall safely deliver orders of bulk gases, cylinders and rolling Dewar’s and remove empty cylinders and rolling Dewar’s from the FDA SANFL facility. The Contractor shall pick up empty gas cylinders and rolling Dewar’s during deliveries.

The Contractor shall abide by the Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines and requirements for the safe transportation of gases/cylinders. The Contractor shall label any cylinders without DOT stickers; the Contractor shall have stickers available to remove cylinders from Government facility. The Contractor shall ensure that all cylinders shall be labeled in accordance with the applicable Federal and State regulations.

The Contractor shall ensure that all cylinders shall be hydrostatically tested and inspected as required by the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), Federal and State regulations.

The Contractor shall be available for delivery requests and to provide technical support by telephone Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM local time. The Contractor shall provide on-site technical support within 24 hours of service request at no charge to the government.

The Contractor shall deliver requested items after receiving a valid order submission as outlined below. All gases shall be delivered within 48 hours as part of normal/standard service. Any request for a delivery within less than 48 hours shall be considered an emergency. The Contractor shall make gas deliveries Monday through Friday only, excluding federal holidays, between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM local time. Delivery personnel shall notify the POC prior to delivery. Delivery personnel shall meet security requirements to enter the SANFL facility.

The orders for cylinders and rolling Dewar’s shall be delivered in one shipment, unless otherwise agreed by the POC at the time of request. Delivery of bulk Liquid Argon and bulk Liquid Nitrogen may be delivered separately.

When delivering laboratory gases contained in cylinders and liquified laboratory gases contained in rolling Dewar’s, the Contractor shall have the ability to off-load onto the ground level entryway or loading platform 96 inches by 72 inches with a maximum weight capacity of 10,000 lbs. and capable of adjusting in height from 0-65 inches.”

Certificates of analysis for product deliveries will be provided upon request.

The Contractor shall deliver and properly secure gas cylinders and rolling Dewar’s in the designated area. The Contractor shall deliver and connect gas cylinders and rolling Dewar’s to equipment at no additional charge upon request.

When delivering Oxygen cylinders, the Contractor will secure and connect the cylinders to the instruments designated by the government personnel on hand at time of delivery. If necessary, the Contractor shall also disconnect and remove the empty cylinder from same instrument prior to connecting new cylinder.

The Contractor shall replace defective cylinders and Dewars within 24 hours of service request and the Government shall not be charged for any orders associated with the defective Dewars or cylinders.

Upon the completion of the contract, including any option periods exercised, the contractor shall remove all contractor owned property from the facility within 30 days. The contractor will also coordinate removal with any new contractor to ensure minimal disruption of service to the government.

The Contractor shall provide appropriately sized bulk tanks for both Liquid Argon and Liquid Nitrogen based upon the estimated annual usage listed below. The Contractor shall provide tank specification to confirm installation requirements. Contractor may schedule appointment to inspect area prior to bidding. Contractor is responsible to obtain any drawings or specifications necessary to complete installation.

Prior to formal governmental acceptance, the Liquid Argon and Liquid Nitrogen bulk tanks must be cleaned, flushed and/or purged of contaminants to ensure that the gas product meets the minimum specifications for quality and purity.

The Contractor shall ensure that the Liquid Argon tank shall be constructed of stainless steel and that any metallic internal components that come in contact with the Argon shall be stainless steel. The contractor shall use precleaned 316L stainless steel tubing to connect the Argon bulk tank to the building’s Argon line. The Contractor shall clean/purge the Argon line before connecting the Argon bulk tank.

The contractor will provide fit for use gas regulators to adjust the delivery pressure to the optimal amount with respect to the requirements of the laboratory.

The Liquid Argon tank bulk system shall be installed on an existing 10-foot x 8-foot x 5 inches (depth of concrete) concrete pad, which is available for inspection by appointment. The pad has a covering with lighting that will limit the height of all tanks to 10 ft 9 inches. The Contractor shall be responsible for any surveying, planning or inspection necessary to install the tank.

The Liquid Argon bulk system shall have the capacity to hold a minimum of 3,000 liters of Liquid Argon and shall include a manifold with display for volume and pressure.

The Liquid Argon tank bulk system will be capable of providing ultra-high purity (UHP) Argon with a regulator that that can deliver a minimum pressure of 50 to 175psig. UHP Liquid Argon is defined as ≥ 99.997% pure. The tank will be maintained at a minimum of 175psig during filling. Installation of the tank will include setting up tank pressure, house line pressure and economizer pressure. The house line pressure will be set at 125 psig upon installation.

The Contractor shall include and install gas gauges on the Liquid Argon bulk tank and the Liquid Nitrogen bulk tank so that the laboratory can monitor gas levels and submit requests on an “as need” basis. The Contractor shall notify FDA SANFL prior to accomplishing a filling request of the bulk tanks for Liquid Nitrogen or Liquid Argon by trans-fill from Dewars instead of the normal delivery truck.

The Contractor will supply Liquid Argon in the tank bulk system that meets the contaminant specifications listed in the attached

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