Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR)

Waiver Rationale Summary

Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR), a compound used in the production of nitrile gloves, has no current availability in the United States domestic marketplace in sufficient quantity or quality to satisfy the Government’s needs. Therefore, a non-availability waiver is being sought for the supply of NBR used in the nitrile glove manufacturing process. U.S. manufacturers do not anticipate having the capability to begin fully sourcing and manufacturing all glove components, specifically NBR, domestically for at least 20 months. There are currently no domestic producers of nitrile gloves in the required quantity that meet IIJA requirements, and it’s estimated that NBR will not be available from domestic sources until late CY25. ASPR/SNS routinely monitors the NBR market to determine if there are sources for nitrile gloves and other PPE that meets the IIJA requirement of 100% American made components and end product. Notwithstanding the current request for non-availability waiver for NBR, ASPR will require contractors to exhaust domestic NBR supplies prior to using foreign sources for NBR. Additionally, ASPR will continue to monitor domestic availability of NBR and will conduct a review of the contracts and perform additional market research at the six (6) month mark to determine the domestic availability of NBR. Finally, ASPR/SNS will utilize domestic sources for NBR that meet the Government’s specifications and satisfy testing requirements as soon as they become available.