← SCP Cost Explorer Read on SCP Wiki ↗
SCP-1340 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-1340
Expected annual
$5.0M
One-time setup
$16.1M
Annual recurring
$5.0M
Personnel
22
Initial capital expenditure is approximately $16.06M driven primarily by construction of a bespoke containment tank and major equipment/life‑support installations; ongoing annual operating costs are approximately $4.96M driven by specialized staff wages, utilities/energy, and a depreciation/capital replacement reserve.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $16.1M
Facilities $13.5M
[#1, #3, #4] Custom containment tank construction, water conditioning installation, and HVAC/energy infrastructure (foundations, plumbing, chillers, site electrical upgrades).
Equipment $2.0M
[#2, #5, #6, #8] Life‑support plant hardware, backup generators/UPS, electro‑monitoring sensors and data loggers, EM shielding and filtered feedthroughs.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $375K
[#7] Electroacoustic transducer R&D, prototyping, signal processing pipeline, and initial cryptanalysis tooling.
Initial Capture And Quarantine $175K
[#14] One‑time extraction, sedation, transport tanks, charter and on‑site stabilization/quarantine setup.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $5.0M/yr
Staff Wages $2.0M/yr
[#9, #10, #11] Salaries and benefits for veterinary/husbandry specialists, aquarists/keepers, research staff (electrical engineers, cryptanalysts/linguists, ethologists, data scientists), and security/onsite guards.
Depreciation Reserve $900K/yr
[#23] Capital replacement reserve (5–10% guidance applied to initial capital; annual set‑aside for tank, life‑support, and major electronics).
Cover Story And Legal $385K/yr
[#12, #20, #24] Field liaison and coordination with Mexican authorities, cover story/PR/legal counsel, and regulatory/insurance/compliance costs.
Utilities And Energy $340K/yr
[#4, #5] Electricity for pumps/chillers/control systems and fuel/testing for backup power systems.
Facilities Maintenance $325K/yr
[#17, #2] Routine maintenance and replacement parts for pumps, seals, filters, diving gear and life‑support system maintenance contracts.
Supplies And Consumables $295K/yr
[#3, #15, #16, #6, #8] Salts/reagents for water chemistry, food supply (krill meal), veterinary/medical consumables and diagnostics, calibration/replacement parts for sensors, minor EM maintenance.
Research And Monitoring $278K/yr
[#18, #19, #25, #7] Data storage and telemetry, ethical oversight and internal review costs, miscellaneous research experiments/workshops, ongoing software/model maintenance for the transducer pipeline.
Emergency Contingency $275K/yr
[#21] Annualed rapid‑response reserve to mobilize extra vets/engineers/divers and emergency supplies.
Logistics And Transport $125K/yr
[#13] Wild population monitoring and cave expedition costs (technical cave divers, ROVs, sonar mapping), annualized.
Training And Certification $35K/yr
[#22] Staff certifications (cave diving recertification, biosafety, animal handling, electrical safety).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $5.0M/yr
89.0% probability / year
Normal uneventful year with steady operations, routine maintenance, and scheduled monitoring.
no major health crises no containment incidents standard field monitoring cadence
🚨 Minor Incident $5.3M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$300K vs baseline
Localized animal health crisis or minor containment issue requiring surge staffing, emergency veterinary care, and extra consumables.
acute illness in multiple specimens partial life‑support failure emergency medical/surgical response
🚨 Major Breach $7.5M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$2.5M vs baseline
Major containment breach, escape or large‑scale system failure requiring full remediation, replacement of major capital, extended field recapture, and legal/public relations response.
catastrophic tank failure large‑scale escape significant public exposure / regulatory action
👥 Personnel 22 total
Role Count Notes
Elasmobranch Veterinarian / Lead Specialist 4 [#9] 3–5 FTE recommended; responsible for medical diagnostics, surgeries, and husbandry oversight.
Aquarist / Keeper 6 [#9] 4–8 keepers for 24/7 animal care, feeding, and enrichment.
Research Scientist / Electrical Engineer / Cryptanalyst / Linguist 6 [#10] 4–8 FTE mix to handle decoding/translation, signal processing, behavioral research, and data analysis.
Security Officer / MTF Agent 6 [#11] 4–8 guards for on‑site security, access control, and aquatic‑trained response.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges for nearly all cost categories, enabling mid‑range estimates; uncertainty remains due to large ranges on capital items (tank/life‑support), operational staffing levels, and unpredictable field expedition frequency.
← SCP-1339 ↑ All SCPs SCP-1341 →