K099--Liquid Nitrogen Safety Upgrades

This is a Sources Sought notice only. This is not a request for quotes and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. The Government will not provide any reimbursement for responses submitted in response to this Source Sought notice. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.

If a solicitation is issued it shall be announced at a later date, and all interest parties must response to that solicitation announcement separately. Responses to this notice are not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation

The purpose of this announcement is to perform market research to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 541330, (K099) with a size standard $25.5 million. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office 1 (NCO 1) is seeking to identify any vendor capable of providing Liquid Nitrogen Safety Upgrades per the Statement of Work below.

This Sources Sought notice provides an opportunity for respondents to submit their capability and availability to provide the requirement described below. Vendors are encouraged to submit information relative to their capabilities to fulfill this requirement, in the form of a statement that addresses the specific requirement identified in this Sources Sought. Information received from this Sources Sought shall be utilized to facilitate the Contracting Officer s review of the market base, for acquisition planning, size determination, and procurement strategy.

Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the services are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 12PM EST, November 20, 2025. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to issa.shawki@va.gov with Sources Sought #36C24126Q0086 in the subject line. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

Interested parties should complete the attached Sources Sought Worksheet. Parties may submit additional information related to their capabilities, provided it contains all the requirements contained in the Sources Sought Worksheet. Responses to this Sources Sought shall not exceed 8 pages. In addition, all submissions should be provided electronically in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

Attachment 1

Sources Sought Worksheet

QUALIFICATION INFORMATION:

Company / Institute Name: _______________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: ________________________________________________________________

Point of Contact: _______________________________________________________________

E-mail Address: ________________________________________________________________

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) #:Â ___________________________________________________

CAGE Code: __________________________________________________________________

SAM Registered: (Y / N)

Other available contract vehicles applicable to this sources sought (GSA/FSS/NASA SEWP/ETC): __________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS:

VIP Verified SDVOSB: (Y / N)

VIP Verified VOSB: (Y / N)

8(a): (Y / N)

HUBZone: (Y / N)

Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business: (Y / N)

Women-Owned Small Business: (Y / N)

Small Business: (Y / N)

NOTE: Respondent claiming SDVOSB and VOSB status shall be registered and Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) verified in VetBiz Registry www.vetbiz.gov.

BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SDVOSB, VOSB, SMALL BUSINESSES OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION.

STATEMENT OF WORK

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Item: Enhancements to the VA Central Biorepository (VACB) liquid nitrogen system to provide

a fail-safe environment in case of a liquid nitrogen leak in the Building. The design of the

enhanced liquid nitrogen (LN2) system must meet the following criteria:

a. Be simple to troubleshoot and easy to reestablish LN2 functionality within a period of

less than an hour following a false positive event that led to a LN2 shutdown.

b. The system must NOT be complex as to require an expert or extensive amount of time to

troubleshoot before functionality can be reestablished.

c. System must be designed so that a lab personnel can operate with minimal training.

d. System shall contain a fail-safe mechanism in the event of a liquid nitrogen leak.

2. Purpose: The purpose of this contract is to provide certain enhancements necessary to provide a

fail-safe environment in the VACB

3. Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the

deliverables described in this performance work statement. The contractor should have expertise

in cryogenics with positive past performance documented in the CPARS system. The Medical

Center requires the services of a qualified contractor which shall provide a fail-safe environment

in case of a liquid nitrogen leak in the Building.

The VA Central Biorepository (VACB) stores millions of blood samples in a large robotic nitro

store, several cryogenic liquid nitrogen tanks and mechanical freezers. The cryogenic tanks and

the robotic nitrostore are supplied with liquid nitrogen from a large liquid nitrogen tank (11,000-

gallon capacity) that is located outside the building at VABHS. The piping from this external

tank to the nitrostore and cryogenic tanks was installed by Maccomber Cryogenics around 2011.

Currently there are several oxygen sensors located within the Biorepository that are tied into the

alarm systems. When excess liquid nitrogen enters the laboratory the oxygen concentration in the

room can drop below levels necessary to sustain life. Currently, the only way to stop the flow of

liquid nitrogen is to manually shut off the supply line at the liquid nitrogen tank. If the leak

happens during off hours this can take hours leading to an extremely dangerous situation,

especially for non-laboratory staff like police or engineering staff that might enter the room to

address the alarm. To mitigate risk to staff, under this contract the contractor shall:

· Add safety enhancements that would automatically cut-off the liquid nitrogen supply

from the main external tank when the oxygen concentration drops below the

recommended set-point.

· Add 4 E-stop push button stations,

· Add three (3) additional oxygen sensors,

· Add emergency shutoff valves

· Add emergency inlet port for the nitrostore freezer and the cryotank farm room.

· All electrical signals emanating from the above mentioned instruments, including an

existing Tox Gard ii located in the nitrostore building, shall be connected to the main

oxygen monitoring and control panel and be integrated with the Biorepository s Alarm

systems as well as to the building s AEM alarm output system.

4. Background: The VACB processes and stores specimens for clinical trials run by the VA

Cooperative Studies Program. The Biorepository is involved in a large-scale genomics project

that will require processing and storing of up to 1,000 samples a day in addition to existing and

ongoing processing for other Cooperative Studies Program projects. The Biorepository stores

millions of specimens donated by veterans for clinical research in a large robotic store known as

the nitrostore, cryogenic tanks and mechanical freezers. The nitrostore and cryogenic tanks are

cooled with liquid nitrogen which is supplied from a large external liquid nitrogen tank located

outside the building. Currently there are two shut off valves that are located near the external

liquid nitrogen tank that would shut off the supply of liquid nitrogen to the nitrostore building and

to the cryogenic tank room. The nitrostore requires a constant supply of liquid nitrogen, so a long

shut off of the liquid nitrogen supply to the nitrostore would be detrimental to the stored

specimens. We can shut off liquid nitrogen supply to the cryotank room if all the cryotanks are

filled with appropriate amounts of liquid nitrogen. There have been several incidences of excess

nitrogen releases in the laboratory where the oxygen concentration in the VACB dropped below

the set-point of the oxygen sensors. This was due to both equipment malfunction and filling of the

liquid nitrogen tank. All events occurred during off hours. The drop in oxygen concentration is

not compatible with human life. While biorepository staff are well trained to handle this event,

first responders such as police or engineering staff who respond to the low oxygen alarm may

enter the Biorepository without realizing the consequences.

5. Performance Period: Four months. No options.

6. Type of Contract: Firm-fixed price Service contract

7. Place of Performance: Service performed at VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington

Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Room RB-8

8. General Requirements:

After several discussions the Biorepository and the local engineering service decided to go with

pneumatic valves. The pressure required to operate these pneumatically controlled valves will be

enabled with two nitrogen gas cylinders which will be placed near the liquid nitrogen tank. These

nitrogen gas cylinders should be protected from external elements and secured properly by the

vendor. In addition, the vendor shall provide an emergency inlet port that will supply liquid

nitrogen to the nitrostore and the cryotank farm when the system is down for maintenance. In

addition, we would require the vendor to provide all engineering services, documentation

deliverables, instrument installation and configuration, required electrical and mechanical

installation, project management at site and internally, validation of the system, necessary

training and a one year system warranty that includes parts and labor for the system. The figure

below shows how the two valves are controlled by the two N2 cylinders. We will not use LN2

supply pressure to activate these valves.

9. Requested Enhancements

Control System Scope of Supply

a. One (1) Main O2 Monitoring & LN2 Isolation Control Panel

b. Two (2) Local O2 Monitoring Control Panels [for redundant O2 monitors]

c. Three (3) MSA TG5000 O2 Monitors with remote sensor kits

d. Three (3) MSA Toxguard II remote sensor kits

e. Four (4) NEMA 4 Lighted E-Stop Pushbutton Stations

f. Two (2) LN2 Electronic Pressure Transmitters with manifold ranged 0 - 60 PSIG

g. One (1) N2 Electronic Pressure Transmitter with manifold ranged 0 - 3,000 PSIG

h. One (1) custom engineered LN2 valve manifold with the following features:

o All piping vacuum insulated for LN2 service

o Dual LN2 isolation valves, spring fail-closed pneumatic operator, 24VDC solenoids, DPDT Open

& Close Limit switches and manual override capability

o Pressure relief valves in all pipe sections downstream of valves

o Emergency supply ports for the Nitrostore and Cryotank LN2 supply piping

o Taps for LN2 tank supply and building LN2 delivery pressure transmitters

i. N2 tank control and monitoring system with the following features:

o Parker Gas Change-Over System unit that allows depressurizing and swapping tanks without

loss of N2 pressure/flow. When one is empty the unit will automatically start drawing from the

second tank.

o Low pressure switches for each tank s inlet connection

o Outdoor weather-shielded lockable cage with room for six (6) tanks total

o Two (2) 300CF series replaceable tanks of N2

Engineering Services

j. Design and Drafting of Local O2 Monitoring Panel

k. Design and Drafting of Main O2 Monitoring & LN2 Isolation Panel

l. Programming of PLC controller and HMI Monitoring Screens

m. Design and drafting of custom LN2 valve manifold and associated site piping

n. Design and drafting of N2 tank monitoring and control system

o. Design coordination with AEM and Rees Scientific

p. Factory Acceptance Test (FAT)

q. Site commissioning, testing and system validation

Documentation Deliverables

r. Control panel drawings and equipment data sheets

s. Control system overview drawings

t. LN2 valve manifold piping and instrumentation drawing (P&ID)

u. N2 Tank control and monitoring system

v. O2 monitoring and LN2 isolation system validation test plan

Instrumentation Installation and Configuration

w. Install and configure the following equipment and instruments:

o MSA TG5000 O2 monitors and remote sensor kits

o Remote O2 sensor kits for existing Toxguard IIs

o LN2 supply and delivery pressure transmitters

o N2 gas tank A pressure transmitter

o N2 gas tank pressure switches

x. Configure the existing MSA Toxguard IIs and rewire the 115VAC power to be from the UPS in the Main

O2 Monitoring and LN2 Isolation Panel.

Electrical Installation

y. Installation of NECI local and main control panels, remote E-stop stations, and O2 monitors

z. Installation of O2 sensor extension kits on existing Toxguard II O2 monitors

aa. Supply, installation and wiring termination of all control cables, and power cables shown on the System

Overview drawing.

bb. Power and signal wiring to the AEP and REES Scientific panels.

cc. Supply, installation and wiring termination of control cables to existing alarm sirens and strobe lights

Mechanical Installation

dd. Installation of LN2 pressure transmitters and N2 pressure transmitter, transmitter sunshade and

associated impulse tubing.

ee. Installation of the custom outdoor LN2 valve and instrumentation manifold assembly

ff. Moving of the Cryotank Room LN2 piping take-off to be downstream of the isolation valves.

gg. Addition of on-pad and off-pad pipe supports including foundations as required.

hh. Supply and install N2 tank enclosure, N2 gas tank Changeover System and associated piping.

Internal and On-Site Project Management

ii. Internal project management for detailed system design, parts procurement and regular updates to the

VA.

jj. Management of electrical, LN2 piping and third-party suppliers (LN2 Manifold Supplier, AEM, Rees

Scientific)

kk. One-site construction and installation management

System Warranty

ll. Include a one-year parts and labor warranty for the system.