36C24224Q0327_3.docx

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

GENERAL INFORMATION

Network Contracting Office (NCO) 2 2875 Union Road Suite 3500 Cheektowaga NY 14227

POINT OF CONTACT*

Spivack, Michael Michael.Spivack@va.gov MICHAEL.SPIVACK@va.gov (716)862-8890

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

3495 Bailey Avenue

Buffalo NY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

DESCRIPTION

This amendment is to answer the following vendor questions:

1. In line 12 of the Air monitor ACM IDIQ Bid sheet I changed the Turnaround time to 1 week because it was a duplicate of line 11(they both said 24hr TAT). Please let me know if this was not a correct assumption.

A. That is correct the turn around time for line item 12 of the Air monitor ACM IDIQ Bid sheet should have a turn around time of one week, not 24 hours.

2. Can you please clarify the need for “Provide services of a Certified Air Sampling Technician during the asbestos air quality monitoring and sampling activities” as a stand-alone bid item?

SOW B.3.1.4 Air Monitoring (E) states ” Contractor shall continuously inspect and monitor conditions inside the work areas to ensure compliance with all regulations . The contractor shall collect all required area samples and analyze all air samples within 24 hours of collection. The contractor shall continuously inspect work areas for any breaches in containment. Contractor shall maintain a daily log of all air monitoring samples and daily activity log. Containment shall stay in place until the clearance samples come back clear and has received authorization from the COR to end containment.”

This means a project monitor will be required daily on task orders. An air sampler can only set up pumps/cassettes, retrieve pumps/cassettes, submit them to the lab, and maintain and air sampling log. An air sampler is not certified to continuously inspect and monitor conditions inside/outside the work area and is not required to maintain a daily activity log. Those responsibilities fall under Project Monitor.

A. This gives the contractor flexibility to offer the sampling technician and project monitor separately providing best value to the VA in the event more than one person is needed, rather than being billed for multiple project monitors.

3. Can you please clarify SOW B.3.1.4 Air Monitoring (F) & (G)?

Section F states “If visual inspection is acceptable, the contractor shall proceed with clearance air samples, using aggressive method. Samples shall be analyzed using the PCM method. All PCM samples shall be analyzed using the NIOSH 7400 method. Onsite testing is preferred.”

Onsite testing is not permitted by CR-56 for air sampling unless the individual is certified by NYSDOH ELAP. Otherwise, it must be performed by a laboratory.

A. The VA agrees with this statement. “Onsite testing is preferred” shall be removed from section B.3.1.4 Air Monitoring (F).

4. Section G states “Final clearance samples shall be conducted in accordance with TEM NIOSH 7402 method. TEM NIOSH samples shall be collected for areas greater than 160 square feet only. TEM for clearance samples is estimated 12 samples per clearance estimated. Contractor shall ensure that NESHAP testing is performed for all renovation and demolition work by asbestos contractors. It includes destructive sampling that AHERA does not cover.”

Section G appears to be a direct contradiction to Section F. By CR-56, clearance samples can be collected and analyzed using PCM methods for any size of project. If a sample fails, all samples can be re-analyzed using TEM Method 7402. It might be more consistent throughout all task orders to request AHERA TEM sampling for all clearance samples regardless of the size of project or require PCM clearance samples regardless the size of the project per CR-56 and if they fail, then use Method 7402.

A. The VA agrees with this recommendation The VA agrees with this statement. Section B.3.1.4 Air Monitoring (G) shall now state:

Final clearance samples shall be conducted using PCM clearance samples regardless the size of the project per CR-56. If a sample fails, all samples shall be re-analyzed using TEM Method 7402. Contractor shall ensure that NESHAP testing is performed for all renovation and demolition work by asbestos contractors.

All other terms and conditions remain the same.

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Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation