← SCP Cost Explorer Read on SCP Wiki ↗
SCP-1854 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-1854
Expected annual
$417K
One-time setup
$1.2M
Annual recurring
$374K
Personnel
6
Estimated up-front (one-time) containment and infrastructure costs are approximately $662,000, driven by facility integration, digital/server hardening, and a sizable initial contingency reserve. Expected ongoing annual costs are approximately $373,950, primarily driven by administrative/staffing overhead, legal/PR/insurance retainer, data/OSINT subscriptions, and rapid-response/logistics readiness.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $1.2M
Initial Research And Lab Setup $564K
[#2, #8, #9, #24, #29] Conservation/microclimate frame setup and initial conservation assessment ($5k), initial background checks (~$6k), SOP development and initial training ($10k), initial contingency/reserve funding for large-scale exposure response ($500k), and data-privacy/legal integration/setup ($42,500) — total ≈ $563,500.
Contingency Reserve Initial $500K
[#24] Initial contingency / large-scale exposure fund (recommended lower-bound allocation to ensure capacity for mass medical/legal response).
Equipment $54K
[#4, #5, #6, #10, #11, #12, #19] Initial purchase of museum-grade covers and spares, hardened air-gapped server hardware and write-once media, digital access control hardware/software setup, cameras/motion sensors/tamper alarms, custom transport crate/kit, medical first-aid kits, and forensic imaging hardware (total ≈ $54,500).
Facilities $44K
[#1, #3] Containment chamber upgrades (lockable mount, cover system, tamper seals) and vault/fire-suppression integration one-time installation ($16,500 + $27,500 = $44,000 total).
Data Privacy Setup $42K
[#29] One-time legal/contracting/setup fees to enable transaction monitoring and data-sharing agreements.
Background Checks Initial $6K
[#8] Initial pre-employment/background screens for ~10 staff (budgeted midpoint).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $374K/yr
Cover Story And Legal $125K/yr
[#20, #23, #27, #29] Annual legal/PR retainer and proactive monitoring (~$50k), insurance/liability reserve premiums (~$50k), public-relations/misinformation mitigation (~$15k), and ongoing data-privacy/legal maintenance (~$10k) = ~$125k/yr.
Staff Wages $100K/yr
[#7] Additional staffing/operational overhead to enforce separation of teams and rostering, conservative baseline estimate of $100k/yr.
Contingency Reserve Annual $50K/yr
[#24] Annual contribution toward contingency/reserve to replenish funds and cover medium-scale incidents.
Research And Monitoring $44K/yr
[#5, #6, #18, #19, #21, #26] Server maintenance/backups & access-audit support (~$3k), access-license/support (~$2k), financial/corporate database subscriptions (~$15k), forensic image storage (~$1.25k), OSINT/online monitoring (~$15k), and audits/recordkeeping (~$8k) = ~$44.25k/yr.
Logistics And Transport $36K/yr
[#11, #22] Annual allowance for transport/move operations (~1 move/year estimate ~$6k) plus rapid-response readiness/operational fund (~$30k/yr).
Security Monitoring And Maintenance $7K/yr
[#10] Camera, sensor, alarm monitoring and maintenance outside of core facilities maintenance (~$7k/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $4K/yr
[#2, #3, #1] Ongoing maintenance of microclimate/frame, fire-suppression inspections, and minor containment upkeep (~$4k/yr).
Training And Drills $4K/yr
[#9] Annual refresher training, SOP compliance checks, and drills (~$4k/yr).
Supplies And Consumables $3K/yr
[#4, #12, #25] Replacement opaque covers, PPE and handler consumables, and medical restocking (~$2.7k/yr).
Background Checks Recurrent $1K/yr
[#8] Periodic re-checks for access personnel (~$1k/yr for ~10 staff at midpoint).
Rapid Response Deployment Costs Reserved $0/yr
[#22] Per-deployment MTF/field team costs are budgeted per-incident; baseline reserve captured in logistics_and_transport readiness fund.
Per Incident Seizure Costs $0/yr
[#20, #28] Per-incident physical seizure/destruction costs (variable; budgeted per-event, not as predictable recurring expense).
Incident Medical Care $0/yr
[#13] Clinical dermatology/outpatient care is per-incident; no baseline recurring allocation here (costs modeled in scenarios).
Reconstructive Surgery Reserve $0/yr
[#14] Major reconstructive surgery is as-needed/per-incident; modeled in high-cost scenarios rather than baseline recurring budget.
Psychological Counseling Reserve $0/yr
[#15] Counseling/compensation for affected personnel allocated per-case; not included as recurring baseline here.
Testing Program Budget $0/yr
[#16, #30] Controlled testing / research program budgets are discretionary and episodic; costs estimated per active research year (modeled as a scenario).
Transaction Prevention Program $0/yr
[#17] Per-subject transaction-monitoring / legal/banking integration costs depend on number of subjects; modeled per-case or as part of major-leak scenario.
Per Incident Disposal Cost $0/yr
[#28] Cost to shred/incinerate discovered physical transcripts is per-operation and not budgeted as recurring here.
Research Program Contingency $0/yr
[#30] Ongoing multi-disciplinary mitigation research would be funded during active research years (scenario-based).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $374K/yr
84.5% probability / year
Normal operational year with no major incidents and only routine maintenance, monitoring, staffing, legal/PR retainers, and readiness funds expended.
no breaches no active research program routine monitoring and maintenance
🚨 Minor Incident $434K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$60K vs baseline
Limited off-site discovery or small containment breach requiring a single rapid-response deployment, limited seizures, and care for a small number of affected subjects.
single small leak/seizure 1-3 affected subjects one MTF deployment
🚨 Research Year $669K/yr
10.0% probability / year +$295K vs baseline
Year in which controlled testing/expanded research is authorized and funded, driving higher recurring research costs and likely producing some affected subjects requiring care.
authorized active testing PI and technician hires subject recruitment and monitoring
🚨 Major Leak $2.5M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$2.1M vs baseline
Public leak or widespread distribution of SCP-1854-2 leading to mass exposures and large-scale medical, legal, PR, and remediation operations.
public dissemination mass exposures large-scale litigation/PR
👥 Personnel 6 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 2 [#10, #22, #7] 24/7 site security coverage and rapid-response capability; part of the staffing/operational overhead estimate.
Research Scientist 1 [#16, #30] Responsible for authorized testing and liaison with clinical teams (research years increase headcount temporarily).
IT / Sysadmin 1 [#5, #6] Maintains hardened server, access controls, write-once media, and logging infrastructure.
Administrative Staff 1 [#7, #9] Roster management, compliance tracking, background-check coordination, and SOP administration.
Conservation Specialist / Technician 1 [#2, #19] Artwork conservation, microclimate maintenance, and forensic imaging coordination.
📋 Confidence Notes
Detailed analyst estimates were provided for most line items allowing a moderate-confidence budget for baseline operations. Uncertainty remains in incident frequency/severity, the scale of required contingency funding, and decisions about running active research (which dominate costs), so confidence is not high.
← SCP-1853 ↑ All SCPs SCP-1855 →