FY 2018 DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP)

NAICS Codes:541713 -- Research and Technology in Nanotechnology541714 -- Research and Technology in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology)541715 -- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)611310 -- Colleges, Universities and Professional SchoolsContracting Office Address:Savannah River SiteBldg 730-2BAiken, South Carolina 29808United StatesOverview:Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) solicits Expressions of interest (EOI) from Minority Serving Institutions that provide research, design, development, engineering, test and evaluation and educational services to assist in the accomplishment of the current and future missions of the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). Services shall include all areas of professional that support defined DOE-EM research and development needs. Collaboration with partners and funding agencies, preparation of written reports and presentations of

results shall be elements of provided services.This program covers applied research and related activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that support defined EM needs in Site Restoration and Tank Waste. Activities performed in collaboration with DOE laboratories are especially encouraged. The hub national laboratory for the MSIPP is SRNL. This program is managed by SRNL, which is operated by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS), at the Savannah River Site (SRS) for the Department of Energy.Any tasks to be furnished will be defined in a Statement of Work associated with a Task Order Agreement. Universities may be required to submit a Quality Assurance Plan or provide a Safety Plan in support of manual on-site work.Eligibility:MSIs are defined by the U.S. Department of Education as institutions of higher education enrolling populations with significant percentages of minority students, or that serve certain populations of minority students under various programs created by Congress.To be considered eligible for the MSIPP, an MSI must:1) award bachelor's degrees in STEM disciplines2) be an accredited postsecondary public or private institution3) be a nonprofit institution4) enroll populations with significant percentages of undergraduate minority students, or serve certain populations of minority students under various programs created by Congress (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html).Response Required:Any eligible MSI interested in submitting a proposal for financial assistance for applied research and related STEM activities on the Sub-Program Priority Areas and Research Needs listed below must respond with a Letter of Interest by March 19, 2018. All letters must be submitted by email to susan.goodwin@srs.gov. The following must be included in the Letter of Interest:Institution Name:Institutional Accreditation (Accrediting Agency):Sub-program Priority Area (PA) and Research Need (RN) Category of Proposed Research (List Below):Proposed Title:Eligible institutions that respond with a Letter of Interest will be provided with a Request for Proposal. Expressions of Interest are to be addressed by email to the Point of Contact identified in this notice.This EOI is a "Sources Sought" notice only for eligible institutions interested in submitting proposals for financial assistance for applied research and related activities in STEM fields that support defined DOE-EM research and development needs.Description: MSI Research Topic AreasThe following program descriptions are offered to provide more in‐depth information on STEM areas ofinterest to the Office of Environmental Management. Specific areas of research interest are identified ineach Sub‐Program Priority Areas and Research Needs list.1. Site RestorationThe mission of the Site Restoration program is to provide integration, planning and analysis for all soil and groundwater remediation, deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) and facility engineering. The Site Restoration subprograms and their objectives follow:Soil and GroundwaterThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) manages the largest groundwater and soil remediation effort in the world. The inventory at the DOE sites includes 6.5 trillion liters of contaminated groundwater, an amount equal to about four times the daily U.S. water consumption, and 40 million cubic meters of soil and debris contaminated with radionuclides, metals, and organics. At the large sites such as Hanford (Richland, WA), Savannah River (Aiken, SC), and Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, TN), the Office of Technology Development conducts research and demonstration projects to test new technologies and remediation approaches. These initiatives are developing remediation alternatives ranging from active engineered systems to passive methods such as natural attenuation to address a variety of DOE‐EM contaminants. They are being integrated into a systems‐based, risk‐informed, remediation framework that is being applied across the DOE‐EM complex.R&D can include characterization and monitoring; stabilization, remediation and processing; and modeling, visualization and analysis. The goal of research and technology development activities is to deliver approaches and technologies from highly leveraged and strategic investments that maximize the reduction of risk and life‐cycle cleanup costs.Sub‐Program Priority Areas (PA), Research Needs (RN), and Conditions (C):PA1: Attenuation Based Remedies for the SubsurfaceRN1: R&D leading to solutions to address subsurface metal and radionuclide contamination and recalcitrant organics in particular, iodine, chromium, cesium TCE, and uranium.C1: Research should complement or extend the work.PA2: Deep Vadose ZoneRN2: R&D leading to improved characterization, remediation, monitoring, and prediction for the deep vadose zoneC2: Research should complement or extend the work funded at Richland and address those issues related to uranium, iodine, and chromium.PA3: Remediation of Mercury and Industrial ContaminantsRN3: R&D leading to the control of the flux of contaminants in soil and water environmentsC3: Research should complement or extend the work of the Mercury Initiative based at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that focuses on protecting surface water, groundwater, and ecological receptors. The Oak Ridge Mercury Strategy can be found at https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/05/f32/2016%2C%20Technology%20Plan%20to%20Address%20Mercury.pdf.PA4: Monitoring at Environmental Remediation SitesPA4: Across the DOE Complex the long-term monitoring of subsurface contamination that is left in the ground to be naturally attenuated and/or bioremediated requires new approaches, sensors and data analysis to ensure the safety and health of the environment. For additional information please visit https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications /external/technical reports/PNNL-21379.pdf.Deactivation & DecommissioningDeactivation and Decommissioning (D&D) is the process of taking an active/excess/abandoned facility to a final disposition end state. Because of residual radioactivity, other hazardous constituents, and the physical condition of EM's facilities, D&D presents unique hazards that must be addressed from a safety, programmatic, environmental, and technological standpoint. The general D&D process applies to all facilities across the EM complex. The D&D function with the Office of Infrastructure and D&D focusses on innovative applications and timely insertion of existing commercially available technologies, processes and hardware to identify and address D&D risks and challenges. In cases where appropriate technologies do not exist or do not exist at the required level of maturity, the Office supports the research and development (R&D) to increase the technology maturation. The program supports the development of informed facility D&D strategy such as In‐Situ Decommissioning (entombment), enhanced verifiability of the efficacy of D&D operations, increased productivity and personnel safety of D&D operation, facilitation of acceptable facility end‐states, and independent verification.Sub‐Program Priority Areas (PA), Research Needs (RN), and Conditions (C):PA1: Unique sensor networks for remote monitoring of entombed facilities and tanksRN1: R&D leading to the development and deployment of these networksC1: Research should extend techniques already developed at DOE labsPA2: Interactions between radiological and chemical contaminants of concern to DOE (e.g. plutonium, cesium, mercury, etc.) and facility materials (e.g. concrete, steel, nickel, etc.)RN2: R&D leading to a better scientific understanding of these interactionsC2: Scientific understanding should support the subsequent development of cost effective methods to decontaminate facility materialsPA3: Incombustible fixatives and decontamination agentsRN3: R&D leading to the development of these fixatives and agentsC3: (None specified)PA4: Acceptability of various decontamination and fixative agents mixturesRN4: Testing protocols to demonstrate the acceptanceC4: Protocols should be applicable to various DOE facilitiesPA5: Robotics and remote systems with plug‐and‐play interchangeable componentsRN5: There are a number of areas where advancements in robotics will benefit the DOE Environmental management mission. Research in any of the areas described below will be considered. R&D leading to advances in the development of multi-use robots and remote systems ranging from simple tele-operated units to fully autonomous systems applicable to DOE Environmental Management tasks including D&D is the objective. R&D targeting sensors which can be deployed on mobile platforms is also a prime area of interest. Sensors of concern include devices to characterize the condition of inaccessible nuclear facilities like concrete structures such as gamma scanning, UT, IR, GPR, laser mapping, etc. Wearable robotics to enhance worker capability and safety is another category suitable for research. The DOE complex has numerous gloveboxes in which operators work through rubber gloves. R&D into tele-operated manipulators that can be deployed through existing gloves and requires no modification to the existing infrastructure would be beneficial. https://energy.gov/em/office-environmental-managementC5: Research should support component development with application to DOE nuclear facilities. Devices developed for DOE nuclear facilities must be rugged and able to operate in radioactive environments ranging from low to highly radioactive. Developers should consider the facilities to be an industrial setting with the objective to execute tasks that are dirty (contaminated), dull (routine, repetitive), dangerous (occupational hazards), and difficult (requires engineered measures).PA6: Models for facility decommissioningRN6: R&D leading to model developmentC6: Research could include modeling of degradation and its effects on decommissioning scope and costsPA7: Enhanced Characterization and Real Time Monitoring TechnologiesRN7: R&D Leading to improved field deployable instrumentation; with increased detection limits and precision and accuracy for both radiological and chemical contaminantsC7: Research could include development of a real time, field deployable asbestos characterization/quantification instrument and fixed radiation monitors with automatic shift in the direction of prevailing and changing winds2. Tank WasteEM is dedicated to safely disposing of waste and seeks cost effective and environmentally responsible project execution methods. EM offices that focus on waste management provide leadership in planning and executing EM programs for the storage, retrieval, pretreatment, treatment, and final preparation of nuclear materials for disposal and tank closure planning.Tank Waste and Waste ProcessingThe Department has approximately 88 million gallons of liquid waste stored in underground tanks and approximately 4,000 cubic meters of solid waste derived from the liquids stored in bins. The current DOE estimated cost for retrieval, treatment and disposal of this waste exceeds $50 billion to be spent over several decades. The highly radioactive portion of this waste, located at the Hanford Site, Idaho National Laboratory, and Savannah River Site, must be treated, immobilized, and prepared for shipment to a waste repository. Efforts currently focus on improving pre‐treatment to reduce the amount of waste that must be disposed, retrieval technologies, vitrification performance, and breakthrough immobilization technologies.Sub‐Program Priority Areas (PA), Research Needs (RN), and Conditions (C):PA1: Current DOE tank waste and waste processing approachesRN1: R&D leading to the development of technology improvements that address technology gaps or optimize the current DOE flow sheetsC1: Research should be in at least one of the following areas: Characterization of Physical and Chemical Properties; Improvement in Slurry Transport, Mixing, and Flammability Control; Refining the Separations Processes; and Optimizing Processing Facilities and Waste FormsPA2: Alternative DOE tank waste processing optionsRN2: R&D leading to addressing challenges to alternative processes, to eliminate the need for new massive facilities, to start waste treatment operations sooner, and to accelerate reduction of hazards from materials stored in tanksC2: Research should be in at least one of the following areas: Development of Alternative Separations Methods and Deployment Strategies, Development of Alternative Waste Forms and ProcessesPA3: Tank Management and ClosureRN3: R&D leading to improved tank integrity, and water intrusion detection and leak detection.Closure objectives include achieving retrieval goals, developing protocols for residual waste characterization and immobilization, establishing barriers to release of constituents of interest, and development of closure materialsC3: Research should be in at least one of the following areas: Improvement in tank leak and intrusion detection and mitigation; improvement in in situ sampling, analysis, characterization, and monitoring for tank closure; development of retrieval method alternatives (mechanical and chemical); and improvement in the technical basis for closure and performance assessments.