Final SSN-Rad. Eval. Assistance 11.17.2025.docx

Source Sought Synopsis

THE U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) is issuing this Sources Sought Synopsis as a means of conducting market research or as a market survey to determine the availability and potential technical capability of the business community to provide independent technical assistance in performing document reviews, radiological surveys (i.e., scoping, characterization, remedial action support, in-process, and final status), and special projects related to non-power/power nuclear reactor, fuel facility, uranium recovery, and materials facilities undergoing decommissioning without any conflict of interest. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541360 - geophysical surveying and mapping services. The primary locations for services sought regarding the radiological surveys are at nuclear decommissioning sites (see https://www.nrc.gov/waste/decommissioning) for more details.

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposal. Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. The Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred.

Background:

As part of its mission to protect the public health and safety and the environment, the NRC conducts routine and special inspections of sites to be decommissioned. During these inspections, NRC contractors may perform surveys and collect samples to determine the radiological status and provide an independent verification of the radiological condition of the site.

In addition to routine and special inspections, the provisions of 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart E, and related criteria applicable to the decommissioning of facilities licensed under Parts 30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, and 72 (as well as other facilities subject to the Commissions jurisdiction) require NRC licensees to submit a License Termination Plan (LTP) or Decommissioning Plan (DP) to demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for license termination. In making the determination that the supporting documentation and the final radiation survey demonstrate that the site is suitable for release, NRC staff conducts: 1) technical reviews of all decommissioning-related documents; 2) in-process inspections to verify the adequacy of decommissioning activities; and 3) confirmatory surveys to validate the final radiation survey. NRC staff will be performing technical reviews of decommissioning documents, planning and performing site visits and surveys to see if NRC’s unrestricted use criteria, found in 10 CFR 20.1402, is exceeded at a site for present and future uses. Part of this work is related to a Memorandum of Understanding the NRC signed with the Department of Defense for military sites. In order to accomplish these tasks, contractor assistance is required to provide survey instrumentation and expertise.

Capability Sought:

The NRC is seeking to identify commercial organizations capable of providing independent technical assistance in performing document reviews, radiological surveys (i.e., scoping, characterization, remedial action support, in-process, and final status), and special projects related to non-power/power nuclear reactor, fuel facility, uranium recovery, radium-226 materials sites, developing dose assessments, and materials facilities undergoing decommissioning without any conflict of interest.

The contractor and/or its proposed personnel shall have extensive expertise in health physics and radio chemistry in the following areas: 1) design and conduct of radiological surveys in accordance with Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation (MARSSIM) and NRC guidance, NRC rules, regulations, and inspection procedures; 2) sample preparation, collection methods, and interpretation of sample data; 3) radium-226 assessment, non-power/power nuclear reactors systems and operations, materials, fuel cycle, uranium recovery, and Site Decommissioning Management Plan sites; and 4) technical knowledge and operational use of survey (i.e., portable instruments, contamination detectors, and in-situ gamma spectroscopy) instrumentation; and 5) dose assessment development.

Respondents must demonstrate their ability to perform the following:

· Document Reviews - perform technical reviews of a variety of decommissioning documents to include LTPs, DPs, proposed survey and sampling methodologies, technical basis documents, survey reports, sample analysis data, draft NRC regulatory guides, and other assigned special projects.

· Radiological Surveys - design and conduct radiological surveys in accordance with agency guidance. Radiological surveys shall be conducted in accordance with an approved Quality Assurance (QA) program.

· In-Process Evaluations and Confirmatory Survey Inspections - assist with on-site evaluations and in-process inspections conducted at various stages of the licensee's/non-licensee's decommissioning program in support of its decommissioning survey program or specific request.

· Special Projects - provide technical assistance to NRC staff on special projects including training related to nuclear facility operations and decommissioning, development of regulatory guidance, and other projects related to radiological health and safety, such as evaluation of radiological instrumentation and detection sensitivity.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOLICITATION

If your organization has the capability and capacity to perform, as a prime contractor, one or more of the services described in this notice, then please respond to this notice and provide written responses to the following information. Please do not include any proprietary or otherwise sensitive information in the response, and do not submit a proposal. Proposals submitted in response to this notice will not be considered.

Respondents must have no potential for organizational conflicts of interest (OCOI). Situations that may give rise to OCOI are outlined in NRCAR Subpart 2009.5, “Organizational Conflicts of Interest” and include:

i. Where the offeror or contractor provides advice and recommendations to the NRC in the same technical area where it is also providing consulting assistance to any organization regulated by the NRC.

ii. Where the offeror or contractor provides advice to the NRC on the same or similar matter on which it is also providing assistance to any organization regulated by the NRC.

iii. Where the offeror or contractor evaluates its own products or services, or has been substantially involved in the development or marketing of the products or services of another entity (e.g. competitor product/design/service).

iv. Where the award of a contract would result in placing the offeror or contractor in a conflicting role in which its judgment may be biased in relation to its work for the NRC or would result in an unfair competitive advantage for the offeror or contractor.

v. Where the offeror or contractor solicits or performs work at an applicant or licensee site while performing work in the same technical area for the NRC at the same site.

For information on NRC COI regulations, visit NRC Acquisition Regulation Subpart 2009.5 (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting/48cfr-ch20.html). All interested parties, including all categories of small businesses (small businesses, small-disadvantaged businesses, 8(a) firms, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses) are invited to submit a response. The capabilities submitted by a vendor should demonstrate the firm's ability, capability, and responsibility to perform the principal components of work listed below. The response should also include past performance/experience regarding projects of similar scope listing the project title, general description, the dollar value of the contract, and name of the company, agency, or government entity for which the work was performed.

Questions 1-12 (Respondents must answer these questions).

1. Has your organization performed the above capabilities as a prime contractor?

2. What size is your organization with respect to NAICS code identified in this notice (i.e., "small" or "other than small")? If your organization is a small business under the aforementioned NAICS code, what type of small business (i.e., small disadvantaged business, woman-owned small business, economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, 8(a), or HUBZone small business)? Specify all that apply.

3. What is the size of your company in terms of employees and consultants? (Breakdown the mix between the two categories.)

4. Which GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, if any, do you possess? When do they expire?

5. List any companies or government agencies your company plans to perform work related to civilian nuclear reactors?

6. Has your company previously faced organizational conflict of interest issues with NRC? How were they resolved?

7. Is your organization currently performing or have in the past performed same or similar services as those listed above for any of the licensees regulated by the NRC? If so, which licensees? See http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing.html for more information on NRC sites undergoing decommissioning.

8. Do any of the situations that may give rise to OCOI as described in NRCAR Subpart 2009.5 currently apply to your company? Do any of these situations apply to planned or foreseeable work that your company will perform?

9. Describe any other information your company deems relevant to supporting the inspections of sites to be decommissioned.

10. Describe tasks you have performed in the areas decommissioning of facilities licensed under Parts 30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, and 72.

11. Will you need to subcontract out any areas and if so, what portion?

12. If your organization is located outside the Washington Metropolitan area, how will your organization coordinate with the NRC program office located at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD?

Interested organizations responding to this Sources Sought Synopsis are encouraged to structure capability statements in the order of the area of consideration noted above. All capability statements sent in response to this notice must be submitted electronically, via e-mail, to Jenny Ford at Jennifer.ford@nrc.gov, either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), within 15 calendar days from the date of publication of this notice.

DISCLAIMER AND NOTES: Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s potential capability and capacity to perform the subject work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. All responses to this notice must be 10MB or smaller in size; otherwise, the NRC server will reject the response. Respondents may submit more than one response in order to stay under the 10MB threshold. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.