SCP-1921 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-1921
Expected annual
$2.3M
One-time setup
$3.5M
Annual recurring
$2.2M
Personnel
20
One-time setup costs are approximately $3.49M driven by facility hardening, a sound attenuation chamber, cover-up/insurance reserves and contingency funds; ongoing annual costs are ~ $2.22M driven primarily by staff wages (security and research), ongoing research/testing and legal/PR/insurance retainer.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $3.5M
Insurance Reserve Fund $1.2M
[#19] Large one-time reserve/insurance fund for catastrophic liability, litigation, or large-scale compensation.
Facilities $675K
[#1, #3] Reinforcement/retrofit of Storage Site-49 vault and construction of a professionally rated sound attenuation chamber (structural/HVAC/building work).
Cover Story One Time $600K
[#17] Upfront PR/legal/compensation costs, payments to local authorities and stakeholders for initial containment/cover-up.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $260K
[#10, #11, #13] Instrument access/consumables for chemical analysis, pilot-phase neurology research setup, and high-resolution digitization hardware/workflow.
Equipment $238K
[#5, #7, #8, #14, #22] Electronic security install, chemical secondary containment hardware (tanks/sensors/valves), PPE procurement, mechanical interlocks/failsafes, initial IT/hardware for secure documentation.
Contingency Medical Reserve $125K
[#15] One-time contingency/reserve fund earmarked for emergency treatment/rapid-response supplies and specialized treatments.
Forensic Autopsy And Morgue $105K
[#9] Forensic autopsies, histology, neuropathology, toxicology and temporary morgue storage for initial discovery victims.
Initial Evacuations Legal Setup $75K
[#18] Initial legal agreements and planning for future exclusion-radius coordination and evacuation protocols.
Archival Locker Setup $42K
[#2] Climate-controlled archival locker: shelving, environment controls, fire suppression and tamper monitoring.
Transport Recovery $40K
[#6] Secure recovery, sealed containment transport, crane/truck and hazmat/crime-scene costs at discovery.
Conservator Restoration $28K
[#21] Initial conservation/stabilization of the fire-damaged kiosk (wood/panels) and initial pest/treatment work.
Training Development $20K
[#20] One-time development of specialized training program and mock-drill materials for memetic/auditory hazards.
Biohazard Disposal Initial $18K
[#16] Initial incineration/disposal costs for contaminated remains and materials.
Offsite Redundant Storage $18K
[#26] Setup of offsite secure copy storage and initial armored-transfer/insurance setup.
Data Handling One Time $10K
[#22] Secure server setup, encrypted backups and initial logging/compliance tooling (one-time setup).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $2.2M/yr
Staff Wages $1.6M/yr
[#4, #10, #11, #27] Salaries and benefits for security guards (24/7 coverage), chemists/technicians, neuroscience research staff, program/administrative oversight and periodic contracted audits.
Research And Monitoring $389K/yr
[#11, #12, #7, #13, #22, #21, #16, #24] Ongoing non-payroll research costs (scan/MRI time, animal facilities, consumables), long-term medical surveillance programs, chemical monitoring/inspections, secure archival storage costs, conservator maintenance, biohazard disposal and routine controlled research budgets.
Cover Story And Legal $200K/yr
[#17, #19] Annual PR/legal retainer, ongoing compensation/accounting and monitoring to maintain cover story and handle minor claims.
Facilities Maintenance $22K/yr
[#2, #3, #5] Power/HVAC/calibration for archival locker, maintenance and HVAC/attenuation upkeep for sound chamber, routine electronic security/UPS/generator servicing.
Emergency Medical Oncall $20K/yr
[#15] On-call medic/critical-care availability, training refreshers and minor emergency readiness costs.
Training Refreshers $10K/yr
[#20] Annual refresher training, certification, and mock drills for handling auditory/memetic hazards.
Supplies And Consumables $9K/yr
[#8, #23] Hazmat/PPE consumables, laundering, archival sleeves, humidity buffers and routine inspection/re-housing supplies.
Logistics And Transport $2K/yr
[#26, #18] Annual maintenance/insurance for offsite redundant storage and small recurring logistics; larger per-test evacuation costs are treated as scenario-driven.
Remote Test Lease $0/yr
[#3] Option to lease isolated test ranges per-test; baseline assumes in-house chamber (no recurring lease). Set to 0 for baseline.
Per Incident Treatment Reserve $0/yr
[#25] Per-incident contingency for serious CNS removal/treatment (~$200k–$1M per affected individual). Not budgeted as steady annual cost; held as reserved contingency (see one-time reserves).
Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $2.2M/yr
88.0% probability / year
Normal year with routine research, no large-scale playback tests or containment incidents.
no large-scale playback routine research only no medical/legal incidents
🚨 Major Testing Event $2.5M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$250K vs baseline
Year in which a controlled large-scale playback requires evacuation/extra logistics or major leased-range usage.
controlled playback requiring 1.2 km evacuation leased site or large-scale local evacuation additional legal/PR and overtime
🚨 Major Medical Incident $3.7M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$1.5M vs baseline
Containment breach or accidental A3 ingestion event causing multiple casualties and triggering large medical, legal and PR costs.
accidental ingestion/exposure with fatalities public exposure/medical emergency litigation and compensation
👥 Personnel 20 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 8 24/7 on-site guards covering the kiosk vault and archival locker; matches staffing cost assumptions.
Rapid-Response Team / Emergency Response 3 Specialized rapid-response agents trained for anomalous incidents; available for containment breaches and critical interventions.
Research Scientist (Neuroscience) 4 Neuroscientists and cognitive researchers conducting long-term studies and imaging; aligns with neurological research budget.
Chemist / Laboratory Technician 2 Chemical analysts for A3 composition work and routine lab operations.
Program Manager / Administrative Staff 1 Program lead responsible for containment compliance, scheduling and liaison with Site-49 leadership.
Conservator / Preservation Specialist 1 Artifact conservator for kiosk stabilization and archival material care.
Medical Officer 1 On-call medical specialist for staff surveillance and emergency treatment coordination.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed ranges for most line items, enabling mid-point estimates; uncertainty remains in testing frequency, incident probability, and policy choices (e.g., whether Foundation permits playback), so confidence is medium.
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