Analytical Service for Halogenated Organic Compounds in Marine Mammal Tissues NOTICE OF INTENT TO NEGOTIATE A SINGLE-SOURCE CONTRACTSpecial Notice: FD-2026-372 NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) intends to negotiate and award a purchase order, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 12.102(a) and 41 USC 1901, with Texas A&M University The requirement is to procure the following: This requirement is for: Services, non-personal, to provide all labor, equipment and materials (unless otherwise provided herein) necessary for Analytical Service for Halogenated Organic Compounds in Marine Mammal Tissues for up to 35 marine mammal tissues, in accordance with the statement of work NO SET ASIDE IS TO BE USED FOR THIS SOLE SOURCE REQUIREMENT. THE APPLICABLE SIZE STANDARD IS NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODET 541380 with a Small business size standard of $19M.This Sole Source Determination is based on NOAAA's requirement that Texas A&M University is the only Vendor that provides the required Services.Halogenated organic compounds (HOC) have been discovered widely in terrestrial and marine environments. The sources of HOC are either natural or anthropogenic. Well-known anthropogenic HOC include legacy persistent organic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and chlorinated pesticides (e.g., dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and metabolites (DDTs)). Thousands of naturally occurring HOC, often called halogenated natural products (HNPs), with diverse physicochemical properties, were also reported in the literature. Many HNPs originate from marine sources, and reported producers range from bacteria, micro- and macro-algae, sponges, to sea worms. Notably, several classes of HNPs are persistent and can bioaccumulate through the food web because they were detected at elevated concentrations in higher marine organisms. For example, reported concentrations of HNPs such as halogenated methyl and dimethyl bipyrroles, methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polybrominated hexahydroxanthene derivatives in the blubbers and livers of cetaceans were comparable to or even higher than PCBs, PBDEs, and DDTs. Recent studies also found that the HOC profiles in high trophic level predators can be linked to their habitats.The analytical service covers the extraction, instrumental analysis, and data processing for HOC profiling of provided marine mammal tissue samples. The service should also cover the total extractable organohalides measurement for the sample extracts. Advanced high-resolution mass spectrometry should be used in HOC profiling for compound identifications. Compound identification should be conducted via algorithms specifically designed for HOC. To broaden the detection of HOC, either gas chromatography (GC) or ultrahigh-p…