Statement of Requirements.docx

STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENTS

Collection and Production of Standard Reference Material SRM 2711b Montana Soil

I. SPECIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide 2,000 bottles of SRM 2711b soil material that meets or exceeds the following requirements:

Requirements:

1. The Contractor shall successfully collect approximately 115 kilograms of soil no later than 120 days after the award date.

2. The Contractor shall ensure that no vegetation or surface debris is incorporated into the collected material.

3. The Contractor shall arrange for all transport of bulk material from the field to the processing center.

4. The Contractor shall arrange for transport to any intermediate facilities required to meet the deliverable, for example transport to and from radiation processing facilities.

5. The Contractor shall process, blend, grind, pulverize, sterilize, and prepare the material according to all of the following steps:

A: Dry the collected soil material in a forced air oven at 27 degrees Celsius for a period of 3 days or until soil material disaggregates with minor physical force;

B: Disaggregate dried soil and sieve material through a 2 mm sieve, collecting material <2 mm;

C: Grind soil in a ceramic lined ball mill using corundum grinding media;

D: The material shall be split approximately into equal bulk portions (for example, sealed plastic bags of material shall be held in 5-gallon buckets) and placed on a pallet such that the entire lot of ground material shall simultaneously be subjected to Gamma ray sterilization to a cumulative dose of 50 kGy. The Contractor shall provide reports to NIST certifying sterilization indicating dates of sterilization and doses administered.

E: Material shall be blended for a minimum of 1 hour in a blender capable of holding the entire amount of processed material. The contractor shall consult with NIST before material blending occurs if equipment of this size is not available;

F: Blended material shall be dispensed into the final SRM bottles, with each bottle containing a minimum of 50 g of material but not more than 55 g of material. NIST will provide pre-cleaned, 125 mL wide-mouth amber glass bottles to the Contractor prior to bottling;

G: The Contractor shall track and label the production lot during bottling so that individual cases and individual bottles within cases can be referenced as a function of the total packaging time, which is expected to last over a period of several days. The Contractor shall provide a spreadsheet with dates indicated for each case of material produced.

6. The Contractor shall apply a random stratified sampling scheme to select a representative number of analytical samples from across the entire production lot to perform trace element homogeneity analyses. These analyses shall include within-bottle replicate analyses and between bottle analyses. The Contractor shall send requisite samples to expert soil testing laboratories and perform in-house testing as needed. The Contractor shall provide NIST with a final report of analysis. Total sample dissolution methods shall be employed to completely digest silicates and other refractory compounds present in the soil material. NIST SRM 2711a Montana II Soil (provided by NIST) shall be included as a control sample with the batch of SRM 2711b samples selected for homogeneity testing. All measurands shall be reported in units of as-bottled mass fraction, and shall include data for minor and major elements, total and inorganic carbon, and organic carbon by difference, and total sulfur, on a per bottle basis. The target sample size for chemical analysis shall be 250 milligrams of material or lower, consistent with the specific analytical techniques employed. Separate aliquots of material we be sampled for determination of moisture content, and moisture content data shall be reported on a per bottle basis. Moisture determinations will be based on oven drying for 2 h at 110 °C. The final report of analysis shall include data for the mass of material analyzed (for both the mass fraction and moisture determinations), on a per bottle basis and the applied analytical technique(s) used for each measurand.

7. The Contractor shall apply a random stratified sampling scheme to select a representative number of analytical samples from across the entire production lot to perform trace element leaching analyses, using EPA method 3051 A, Microwave Assisted Acid Digestion of Sediments, Sludges, Soils and Oils, with ICP-AES or ICP-MS detection. These analyses shall include within-bottle replicate analyses and between bottle analyses. The Contractor shall send the requisite samples to expert soil testing laboratories and/or perform in-house testing as needed. The Contractor shall provide NIST with a final report of analysis. The EPA methods above will be employed to leach samples in the presence of strong acids. NIST SRM 2711a (provided by NIST) shall be included as a control sample with the batch of SRM 2711b samples selected for leaching. All measurands will be reported in units of as-bottled mass fraction and shall include data for minor and major elements, on a per bottle basis. The target sample size for analysis shall be consistent with the prescribed EPA methods utilized. The Certificate of Analysis for SRM 2711a should be referenced to determine the element suite for the leaching study. The final report of analysis shall indicate the method(s) employed and mass of material analyzed for each measurand.

8. The Contractor shall furnish a data report indicating particle size distribution of the final bottled SRM material. 95% of ground material must be < 100 microns

9. Permits-The Contractor shall obtain necessary permits and site access as necessary to collect candidate SRM 2711b from the original location used to obtain SRM 2711a. This may require working with the state of Montana or the US EPA or other institutions to obtain the necessary permissions. The target site for material collection is the former ASARCO Smelter site located in East Helena, Montana.

10. The contractor shall either be a certified reference material producer with current ISO 17034 accreditation, or subcontract with a 17034 producer to complete the material production and analytical testing aspects of the project.

II. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

Within 60 days of award, NIST will supply 2000 pre-cleaned 125 mL wide-mouth amber glass bottles for bottling the final SRM material;

NIST will supply two units of SRM 2711a Montana (II) Soil for use as a control sample.

III. DELIVERABLES

IV. DELIVERY

NIST shall receive the final product as a single shipment by standard freight, on a shrink-wrapped pallet.

V. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

The Government will confirm that the final material meets the required specifications. The acceptance criteria will be based on the data reports stated in the deliverables. For homogeneity the total mass fraction determinations shall be evaluated such that a majority of the major elements (greater than 75 % of major elements) fall within a 3 % relative standard deviation for within bottle sample analyses and across bottle sample analyses representing the production lot. Similarly, A 10 % relative standard deviation will be used for evaluating the mass fraction homogeneity of minor elements. The particle size distribution report will also be used as a criterion; 95 % of the bottled material must be < 100 micrometers in size.

VI. GENERAL INFORMATION

Safety: The Contractor employees or subcontractors shall be responsible for knowing and complying with all field and laboratory safety protocols and regulations. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, fire prevention, chemical and mechanical/heavy equipment hazards, personal protective equipment, and waste disposal.

Security: The NIST Laboratory is located on a restricted campus. US freight carriers delivering the final product to NIST shall comply with all rules for deliveries and deliver the materials during regular business hours.

Identification Badges: US freight carriers shall comply with all NIST site access requirements.

Vehicle Registration: US freight carriers shall comply with all specific requirements for delivery vehicles.