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SCP-108 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-108
Expected annual
$2.6M
One-time setup
$12.6M
Annual recurring
$2.5M
Personnel
15
Initial one-time capital and modification costs are dominated by a potential portal-neutralization capital project and BSL-3 laboratory construction; baseline annual operating costs are driven mainly by staff wages (security, specialists, medical) and ongoing research/monitoring. Expected annual running costs (without one-off neutralization) are approximately $2.53M, with episodic incidents and neutralization attempts producing much larger single-year spikes.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $12.6M
Portal Neutralization Project $10.0M
[#28] One-off R&D, demolition/neutralization project to attempt permanent severing or sealing of the A↔B↔C nexus (order-of-magnitude capital project).
Facilities $1.6M
[#1, #5, #12] Cell/antechamber construction and structural HVAC/HEPA installation plus site-level BSL-3 construction if not available on-site (includes reinforced cell, airlocks, ducting and negative-pressure modifications).
Equipment $858K
[#7, #8, #9, #10, #14, #15, #18] Robotic endoscopes/ROVs, ship-in-a-bottle lighting packages, long tether/fiber reels and winches, initial data-storage/telemetry hardware, initial conservation/crating for recovered parts, heavy-lift/retrieval gear, and initial camera/surveillance installs.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $150K
[#11] Initial large-scale forensic/pathology/DNA/toxicology sampling campaign and associated lab startup costs for analysis.
Training Initial $18K
[#17] Initial portal triage and specialized safety/procedure training program.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $2.5M/yr
Staff Wages $1.2M/yr
[#3, #4, #16] Security guards (≈9 FTEs at ~$55k fully loaded each), medical staffing (1 FTE nurse + physician consults), and 3–6 specialized technical/research staff (robotics engineers, archaeologists, metallurgists, etc.).
Risk Premium $300K/yr
[#30] Reserve for unknown/black-swan effects and unpredictable costs (recommended 25–50% of planned budget; a chosen medium reserve here).
Program Overhead $200K/yr
[#29] Program management, administration, additional security clearance overhead and insurance (applies as recurring overhead on program costs).
Contingency Fund $150K/yr
[#19] Annual contingency/reserve for emergency evacuations, rapid response, and unplanned containment expense.
Cover Story And Legal $145K/yr
[#20, #21, #24] Cover identity/legal counsel, FOI management, background investigations, cultural-heritage consultations and diplomatic/legal liaison costs.
Supplies And Consumables $144K/yr
[#2, #6, #8, #23, #25, #27] Ongoing housing/sustenance for Subject-108-1, PPE and decontamination consumables, spare parts/lighting replacements, robotics consumables (motors/cameras/batteries), psychosocial support/allowances for subject, and incremental utilities/power for equipment.
Research And Monitoring $100K/yr
[#10, #11, #26] Ongoing data storage/telemetry maintenance, routine forensic/sample analysis as-needed, and archival/cataloging/controlled dissemination costs.
Logistics And Transport $100K/yr
[#9, #13, #15] On-call EOD/logistics contracts and transport/retrieval operations support (routine contract costs and small lift operations).
Conservation Storage $60K/yr
[#14] Long-term climate-controlled storage, conservation and specialist handling for recovered aircraft components.
Waste Disposal $50K/yr
[#22] Program-level incineration/autoclave/chemical neutralization and contaminated waste disposal events.
Facilities Maintenance $35K/yr
[#5, #18] Routine HEPA/filter replacements, HVAC maintenance, and annual surveillance/camera upkeep.
Bsl3 Access And Incident Testing $25K/yr
[#12] Per-use or contracted access costs for BSL-3 lab processing and incident pathogen testing when material is retrieved.
Training Refresher $6K/yr
[#17] Recurring refresher courses and drills for portal triage and safety protocols.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $2.5M/yr
90.9% probability / year
Normal year with routine containment, scheduled exploration, and no major incidents.
routine_operations scheduled_sampling no_breach
🚨 Minor Incident $2.7M/yr
8.0% probability / year +$200K vs baseline
Small containment event: one expulsion/loss of a single robot, minor contamination requiring extra forensics and medical treatment.
partial_expulsion robot_loss localized_contamination
🚨 Major Breach $6.0M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$3.5M vs baseline
Significant containment breach or mass contamination event requiring broad medical response, extended BSL-3 operations, legal response and major remediation.
large_scale_expulsion widespread_contamination legal_exposure
🚨 Neutralization Project $12.5M/yr
0.1% probability / year +$10.0M vs baseline
Decision/year in which command initiates a full neutralization/sealing R&D and demolition project to sever the portal.
policy_decision neutralization_attempt major_capital_project
👥 Personnel 15 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 9 [#3] ~9 guards (3 per shift × 3 shifts) at ~ $55k fully loaded each; incremental security cost.
Research Scientist / Specialist 4 [#16] 3–6 specialists recommended (robotics technicians, archaeologists, metallurgists); modeled here as 4 FTEs included in specialists budget.
Nurse / Medical Officer 1 [#4] 1 FTE nurse for daily examinations and routine medical care.
Physician (consultant) 1 [#4] Weekly physician oversight / specialist consults budgeted as consultant support.
📋 Confidence Notes
Containment and operational items (cell mods, ROVs, staff levels, HVAC/filters) are described in the source and allow moderate confidence; large items (BSL-3 construction, neutralization project, conservation per-part costs) are highly uncertain and introduce material variance, hence medium overall confidence.
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