[Protest of NCI Contract Award for Chemicals Evaluation]

A firm protested a National Cancer Institute (NCI) contract award for chemicals evaluation, contending that NCI: (1) applied evaluation criteria not specified in the solicitation; (2) delayed award until the awardee completed its facility; and (3) did not timely notify it of its exclusion from the competitive range. GAO held that: (1) safety considerations were reasonably related to the evaluation criteria; (2) the protester did not provide evidence to support its allegations that NCI delayed award; and (3) NCI failure to notify the protester of its bid's exclusion did not affect the award's validity. Accordingly, the protest was denied.