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The National Academies

ACRP 11-09/Topic 02 [RFP]

ACRP First Look: Understanding the Impacts of Tire Anti-degradants 6PPD and 6PPD-Quinone on Airports

Posted Date: 12/27/2024

  Project Data
Funds: $50,000
Contract Time: 6 months
(includes 2 months for ACRP review and for contractor revision of the final white paper)
Authorization to Begin Work: 5/15/2025 -- estimated
Staff Responsibility: Joseph D. Navarrete
   Phone: 202/334-1649
   Email: jnavarrete@nas.edu
RFP Close Date: 2/17/2025
Fiscal Year: 2025

ATTENTION PROPOSERS: This is a reposting of the original solicitation. Revisions were made to the solicitation’s format and content of submissions. The submission deadline was also updated.

BACKGROUND

The ACRP is soliciting letters of interest from researchers to produce a white paper, known as an ACRP First Look, on tire anti-degradants 6PPD and 6PPS-quinone (6PPD-q) and their potential impacts on airports.

ACRP is a contract research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems facing airport-operating agencies. It is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and managed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine through the Transportation Research Board. Program oversight and governance are provided by representatives of airport-operating agencies and others appointed to the ACRP Oversight Committee by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

ACRP recognizes that some topics are so new, or are evolving so quickly, that they may not be suitable for a traditional research effort. In these instances, ACRP uses an abbreviated research process to develop an ACRP First Look (typically 50 pages or fewer). ACRP First Looks provide the airport industry with context on quickly developing topics in a timely manner, typically within 6 months.

Attention has recently focused on 6PPD and its formation product 6PPD-q since it has been linked to the mortality of select fish species in North American streams. 6PPD is an anti-degradant added to tires to prevent them from breaking down and helps them last longer. However, throughout the life of the tire, friction causes tire wear particles to be released into the environment. The 6PPD and 6PPD-q included in these tire wear particles are released to the atmosphere and roadways, where they enter bodies of water through surface runoff. Attention to the occurrence, fate, and transport of 6PPD and 6PPD-q to date has primarily focused on roadway impacts from cars and trucks. However, as these tire anti-degradants also are added to aircraft tires and the tires of ground service equipment operating at airports, they are expected to be present in stormwater runoff from airports. Furthermore, rubber from tires has frequently been identified in foreign object debris collected from impervious surfaces at airports, such as runways, taxiways, and aprons. Yet little focus has been on the prevalence and impacts of 6PPD and 6PPD-q and their sources at airports. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently developing a testing method for 6PPD-q, and regulations are anticipated in the near term, which could affect the management of stormwater and other media at airports. However, the scale of the potential impacts, technical challenges, and research needs that airport managers may face in monitoring and responding to 6PPD and 6PPD-q have not been fully explored.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to prepare an ACRP First Look that provides an overview of anti-tire degradants and their nexus with airports, including issues, potential challenges and opportunities, regulatory and legal context, and future needed research.

SCHEDULE, BUDGET, AND DELIVERABLES

The subaward duration is 6 months. The budget for this effort is a fixed price of $50,000 and includes the following deliverables:

  • Annotated outline of the First Look due 2 weeks after the Notice to Proceed (NTP).
  • Draft Final First Look due within 4 months of the NTP.
  • Final First Look and response to panel comments due within 6 months of the NTP.

LETTER OF INTEREST SUBMISSION CONTENTS

Letters of interest should include:

  • Cover letter;
  • Resume(s) or CV(s) describing general knowledge of airport environmental issues and specific expertise in the topic;
  • List of work accomplished in the subject area; and
  • Signed, unmodified liability statement. (Here is a fillable PDF version of the Liability Statement. A free copy of the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader is available at https://www.adobe.com.)

Note: Proposers will be rejected if any of the proposed research team members work for organizations represented on the project panel. The panel roster for this project can be found at https://www.mytrb.org/OnlineDirectory/Committee/Details/7110. Proposers may not contact panel members directly; this roster is provided solely for the purpose of avoiding potential conflicts of interest. For more information, refer to chapter IV of the Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals for the Transportation Research Board’s Cooperative Research Programs. A detailed definition and examples can be found in the CRP Conflict of Interest Policy for Contractors. The proposer recommended by the project panel will be required to submit an Investigator Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Form as a prerequisite for contract negotiations.

Proposals must be uploaded via this link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/LGvnOpLhWLyZRn2tcqE8 
Proposals are due not later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 2/17/2025.

This is a firm deadline, and extensions are not granted. In order to be considered for award, the agency's proposal accompanied by the executed, unmodified Liability Statement must be in our offices not later than the deadline shown, or the proposal will be rejected.

Liability Statement

The signature of an authorized representative of the proposing agency is required on the unaltered statement in order for TRB to accept the agency's proposal for consideration. Proposals submitted without this executed and unaltered statement by the proposal deadline will be summarily rejected. An executed, unaltered statement indicates the agency's intent and ability to execute a contract that includes the provisions in the statement.

Here is a fillable PDF version of the Liability Statement. A free copy of the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader is available at https://www.adobe.com.


General Notes

1. According to the provisions of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 21, which relates to nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, all parties are hereby notified that the contract entered into pursuant to this announcement will be awarded without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability.

2. The essential features required in a proposal for research are detailed in the current brochure entitled "Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals". Proposals must be prepared according to this document, and attention is directed specifically to Section IV for mandatory requirements. Proposals that do not conform with these requirements will be rejected.

3. The total funds available are made known in the project statement, and line items of the budget are examined to determine the reasonableness of the allocation of funds to the various tasks. If the proposed total cost exceeds the funds available, the proposal is rejected.

4. All proposals become the property of the Transportation Research Board. Final disposition will be made according to the policies thereof, including the right to reject all proposals.

5. Potential proposers should understand that follow-on activities for this project may be carried out through either a contract amendment modifying the scope of work with additional time and funds, or through a new contract (via sole source, full, or restrictive competition).

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