SAM #36C26026Q0754

VA Portland Solicits Medical and Research Specialty Gases and Delivery Services

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 20 (NCO 20), is seeking sources for a firm-fixed price contract to supply and deliver a comprehensive range of medical and specialty research gases and related services to the VA Portland Health Care System's Research Service. - Government Buyer: - Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Network Contracting Office 20 (NCO 20) - Office: VA Portland Health Care System, Research Service - Products/Services Requested: - Medical and specialty research gases, including: - Argon (prepurified and ultra high purity, various sizes) - Breathing Air (multiple sizes) - Carbon Dioxide (various sizes, dry ice pellets, bone dry) - Helium (ultra high purity) - Nitrogen (industrial and ultra high purity, liquid and gas, various sizes and pressures) - Oxygen (medical, various sizes, including aluminum cylinders) - Hydrogen (research grade) - Air (ultra zero) - Specialty and custom medical gas mixes (e.g., Carbon Dioxide/Oxygen/Nitrogen blends, Chlorine/Nitrogen mix) - Related services: - Regular and emergency delivery (twice weekly minimum, 24-hour emergency response) - Cylinder and liquid container rental (monthly) - Dewar fills (liquid nitrogen) - Notable Requirements: - Deliveries to multiple research buildings on the Portland VA campus - Strict requirements for continuity of supply, security, and vendor credentialing - Support for over 200 VA-funded research grants requiring uninterrupted gas supply - Annual or quarterly incremental funding, with a five-year contract structure (base plus four option years) - No specific OEMs or brands are named; the focus is on the types and grades of gases and delivery services required.

Description

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation for bids, proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. The responses received from interested contractors will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method. The intended contract is a firm-fixed price. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office (NCO) 20, is conducting market research to identify potential sources which can provide a shielded x-ray cabinet as outlined below in support of the Veterans Health Administration, VA Portland Health Care System, 3710 SW U.S. Veterans Hospital Road, Portland, OR 97239-2964. Potential candidates having the capabilities necessary to provide for this requirement at a fair and reasonable price are invited to respond to this Sources Sought Notice via e-mail to Nazanin Kreiner at Nazanin.kreiner@va.gov no later than June 26, 2026, 1PM, Mountain Time. No telephone inquiries will be accepted. RESPONSES SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: Company name, address, SAM UEI, and business size; Point of contact name, phone number, and e-mail address; Whether services are presently offered on a current GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract, NASA SEWP, or any other Federal contract. Please also state whether the product is Made in America. NAICS Code 325120 with size standard of 1,200 employees, is applicable to determine business size standard. Please indicate whether proposed system is manufactured in the United States. Any questions or concerns may also be directed via email to Nazanin Kreiner at Nazanin.kreiner@va.gov. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. STATEMENT OF WORK Contract Title: Research & Development Gas Delivery and Storage Background The Portland VA Health Care System Research Service requires medical grade specialty gases to conduct a wide array of scientific experiments. The Research Service constantly has over 200 VA funded research grants which encompasses over 490 active protocols for the various research studies. When a VA grant is awarded, it names a Principal Investigator (PI) that is responsible to complete the AIM and Scope of the project. Each Study is unique, and, in most cases, the PI has completed previous studies and/or has more than one active study. A hallmark of scientific discovery is consistency of reagents and supplies over many years so this itself does not become a variable. Consistent reagents, such as specialty gases and mixed gases provided during each experiment or something of that nature, allow for data integrity with results shared with other investigators and VA approved repositories. It is imperative that future experiments keep the same scientific continuity as previous experiments with 10-30 years of medical scientific value. The Research laboratories are located within the Portland VA campus in buildings 100, 101, 103, 104, and 6. These specialty gases, which are case/study dependent, are required at all these locations. Collection of scientific data is a continuum and future experiments are based upon previous results. In virtually all labs, the specialty gas comes in direct contact with living cells from many distinct tissue sources and maintaining viability of the cells is critically important. The baseline scientific data mentioned above was derived from many years and hundreds of research studies that included the use of gases provided via contract. Due to the specific need to maintain this scientific continuity, the determined delivery schedule is exclusive to the Portland VA Research Service. Scope The vendor must perform 100% of the contract. Any deviation from performance, the contractor is required to contact the research administration office immediately to ensure zero disruption of research efforts and plan a contingency in place with the assigned COR. In the event of any emergencies, the contractor must deliver within 24 hours of initial report and plan future deliveries in the event of potential delays. The types of gases needed are listed in Table 1 below along with the inventoried list at the bottom of the SOW. The number and type of cylinders that the Contractor will be providing, and maintaining, varies based on need and projects funded (see Table 1 for the list of requirements). Flexibility is required on the part of the Contractor to be able to handle specialty orders (custom gas mixes and sizes) as well as emergency orders (delivery within <24 hours of request, with applicable fees) regardless of inclement weather or holiday schedules. If contractor is unable to deliver, contractor will contact research administration within 24 hours. The contractor will visit the Portland Campus, replace empty gas tanks with a full tank on a regular schedule, each week on Tuesday and Friday. Aside from dry ice, Dewars are the only fillable items as needed. Tanks and/or cylinders will be replaced accordingly depending on their levels. The contractor will also deliver dry ice to specific locations identified by Portland Research. Deliveries scheduled for a federal holiday will be rescheduled for the date preceding the original delivery date thus accommodating to the delivery schedule of twice weekly at minimum. The contractor will notify Portland Research if they do not have the appropriate gas as specific below in the table and, provide a contingency timeframe of next availability of said gas. Large liquid nitrogen tanks will be filled as needed. Other tanks will be swapped as they are depleted. Specifically, the contractor must not disrupt research laboratories with gaps of service, tank hook-ups, cylinder/tank placements as this would alter or cause critical detriment to the VA facility structure. This is due to the plumbing; any alteration of this could cause critical damage to specimens and/or loss of years of research work with sensitive materials being stored. Gas consumption, including O2 & all specialty gases, are on an as needed basis with requests outside of delivery schedule. Deliveries must be made twice a week to ensure no interruption to study integrity. Company will provide O2 as requested. Table 1 Item List AccountItem #Description CYLINDERSItem: AR PP1AArgon, Prepurified, size 1A CYLINDERSItem: AR PP1LArgon, Prepurified, size 1L CYLINDERSItem: AR UHP1AArgon, Ultra High Purity, Size 1A CYLINDERSItem: AR UHP1LArgon, Ultra High Purity, Size 1L CYLINDERSItem: BA 200Breathing Air, Size 250 CYLINDERSItem: BA 300Breathing Air, Size 300 CYLINDERSItem: CD 50Carbon Dioxide, size 50 DRY ICEItem: CD DRYICEPLTCarbon Dioxide, Dry Ice pellets, per pound DRY ICEItem: CD ICEPELLETSCarbon Dioxide, Dry Ice pellets, per pound CYLINDERSItem: HE UHP1AHelium, Ultra High Purity, Size 1A CYLINDERSItem: HE UHP1LHelium, Ultra High Purity, Size 1L CYLINDERSItem: HX G26876352% Chlorine, Nitrogen balance, Gravimetric grade, size 1P CYLINDERSItem: MX 5CDNTEMPCarbon Dioxide 5%, Balance Nitrogen, Size E, Medical CYLINDERSItem: MX 5CDNTHMCarbon Dioxide 5%, Balance Nitrogen, Size H, Medical CYLINDERSItem: MX 5CDOXHMVCarbon Dioxide 5%, Balance Oxygen, Size H, Blood gas mix CYLINDERSItem: MX 5CDOXNTHMCarbon Dioxide 5%, Oxygen 5%, Balance Nitrogen, Size H, Blood gas mix CYLINDERSItem: MX M024M200Medical Mix M024, Nitrogen 75%, Oxygen 20%, Carbon Dioxide 5%, size 200 CYLINDERSItem: MX M024MEMedical Mix M024, Nitrogen 75%, Oxygen 20%, Carbon Dioxide 5%, size E LIQUID CONTAINERSItem: NI 160LLPNitrogen, industrial, 160 liter, Low pressure LIQUID CONTAINERSItem: NI 180LHPNitrogen, industrial, 200 liter, High pressure LIQUID CONTAINERSItem: NI 180LLPNitrogen, industrial, 180 liter, Low pressure CYLINDERSItem: NI 200Nitrogen, industrial, size 200 DEWAR FILLSItem: NI 20LLiguid Nitrogen, 20 liters CYLINDERSItem: NI 230LLPNitrogen, industrial, 230 liter, Low pressure CYLINDERSItem: NI 250Nitrogen, industrial, size 250 DEWAR FILLSItem: NI 25LLiguid Nitrogen, 25 liters DEWAR FILLSItem: NI 30LLiguid Nitrogen, 30 liters DEWAR FILLSItem: NI 35LLiguid Nitrogen, 35 liters DEWAR FILLSItem: NI 50LLiquid Nitrogen, 50 liters DEWAR FILLSItem: NI 60LLiquid Nitrogen, 60 liters CYLINDERSItem: NI UHP180LMPNitrogen, Ultra High Purity, 180 liter, Medium pressure CYLINDERSItem: NI UHP1ANitrogen, Ultra High Purity, Size 1A CYLINDERSItem: NI UHP1LNitrogen, Ultra High Purity, Size 1L CYLINDERSItem: NI UHPL180-350Nitrogen, Ultra High Purity, 180 liter, High pressure (350 PSI) CYLINDERSItem: OX M250Oxygen, Medical, size 250 CYLINDERSItem: OX MEOxygen, Medical, size E CYLINDERSItem: OX MEAOxygen, Medical, size E, Aluminum cylinder CYLINDERSItem: SG BDCO265SCarbon Dioxide - Bone Dry, 65 lbs. CYLINDERSItem: SG CAUZJAir, Ultra Zero, size J CYLINDERSItem: SG G2146150Hydrogen, Research grade, size 3 <!-- Additional list items omitted for brevity --> Additional sections such as Performance Monitoring, Security Requirements, Government-Furnished Equipment, Other Pertinent Information, Risk Control, Holidays, Place of Performance, Period of Performance, Delivery Schedule, Room Inventory List, and Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan are similarly structured with appropriate HTML tags for clarity and readability.

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