Department of the Treasury, DY, U.S. Customs Service, Procurement Division, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 4.2-E, Washington, DC 20229

Q -- X-RAY FACILITIES (BODY SCANNING) SOL SS-001 DUE 020899 POC L. Clifton 202 927-1139 This Request for Information (RFI) is the initiation of market research under FAR Part 10 and is not a Request for Proposals (RFP). The Government does not intend to pay for any information resulting from this request. Customs is seeking expressions of interest and capability statements in regard to the following. 1. Background. The U. S. Customs Service (USCS) has a need for improving its efficiency and lowering its costs for screening of persons suspected of internally carrying illegal narcotics into the United States. Ingestion of pellets containing narcotics and secretion in the body of packets of narcotics are popular methods of smuggling. Detection of these smuggling attempts can only be accomplished through X-ray technology. Current procedures require that Customs officers, who have reason to believe that a passenger entering into the United States is internally carrying illegal narcotics, escort suspects to hospitals or other medical facilities for X-rays. Such facilities are, with one exception, located away from the officers' posts of duty at an international airport. This requires that officers leave their work location, travel to the medical facility with the suspected violator, and remain with the suspect until an X-ray is performed and interpreted by qualified medical personnel. In some cases, the suspect is found not to be concealing contraband, which has resulted in extreme inconvenience to the passenger as well as a large expenditure of time on the part of the Customs officers. Customs has determined that the interests of the Government and the public may be better served if an X-ray of the suspect is performed at the airport by a certified X-ray technician, and digitally transmitted to a medical facility to be "read" by certified medical personnel. If the X-ray is negative, the passenger's processing is completed. The passenger and Customs officer will only need to physically report to a medical facility if the X-ray is positive. 2. Scope of Work. The contractor shall provide equipment for conducting and digitally transmitting X-rays, with such equipment to be supplied in mobile and fixed site locations. The contractor shall also provide a certified X-ray technician who is available during the hours required by USCS to perform the X-ray and, if the passenger is a female, a pregnancy test prior to the X-ray. The X-ray shall then be transmitted digitally by the technician to a medical facility. The contractor will be responsible for contracting with a medical facility for the acceptance of digitally transmitted X-rays and the services of a radiologist to interpret the X-ray during the hours required by USCS, and for the results to be relayed to the technician by the radiologist within a maximum time period of thirty minutes following transmission. Further, the contractor will be responsible for arranging with the medical facility for admittance of a passenger whose X-ray is positive for the presence of foreign bodies. The contractor will be responsible for providing to USCS the specific facility requirements for installation of the X-ray operation at USCS provided fixed sites (i.e. size of space, and electrical and telephone connections). At mobile sites, the contractor will provide a fully equipped mobile facility capable of movement among, and full operation at, various terminals. Services are to be provided at JFK International Airport (mobile site), Miami International Airport (mobile site), Chicago O'Hare Airport (fixed site), Houston Intercontinental Airport (fixed site), Los Angeles International Airport (mobile site), Jose Munoz International Airport (fixed site), San Juan (fixed site), Newark International Airport (fixed site), Dulles International Airport, Washington (mobile site), and Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta (fixed site). It is anticipated that services will be required by July 31, 2000. Responses to this RFI indicating that the information therein is proprietary or represents confidential business information will be received and held in confidence for U. S. Government use only. However, it is Customs' intent to develop an RFP from the information gathered from industry as a whole. Please provide responses by close of business February 8, 1999, to the following address: U. S. Customs Service, Office of Finance, Procurement Division, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20229 ATTN: Linda Clifton. Point of contact for the RFI is Linda Clifton, Contracting Officer. All responses must be in writing and may not be faxed. Any questions, concerns, or suggestions shall be included as part of the written response. Posted 01/07/99 (W-SN285876). (0007)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0050 19990111\Q-0005.SOL)