SCP-1970 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-1970
Expected annual
$162K
One-time setup
$53K
Annual recurring
$159K
Personnel
2
One-time startup costs are modest (~$53k) driven by room fit-out, audio capture hardware, NAS and initial research/contingency; annual recurring costs are ~ $159k driven primarily by personnel (monitoring and inspections), central program overhead, and ongoing archival/monitoring expenses.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $53K
Facilities $17K
[#1, #3] Room allocation and fit-out (lock upgrades, keycard rewiring, shelving, basic interior fit-out) plus physical isolation measures (additional locked cabinets, barriers, signage).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $14K
[#6, #13] Initial audio analysis software/licenses and initial forensic/biological analysis project budget (contractor/lab fees for initial studies).
Equipment $11K
[#4, #5, #12] Continuous audio recording hardware (microphones, preamp, recorder, UPS) and initial NAS/storage purchase; initial biosafety containment equipment (glovebox/Class II cabinet) included.
Incident Contingency Fund Initial $5K
[#21] One-time funded contingency for emergency repairs, rehousing, or sudden replacement needs at startup.
Cover Story Initial $3K
[#18] Initial cover-story/cover-up budget (public-facing paperwork, plausible replacement items, small settlements) reserved at acquisition.
Initial Transport $2K
[#17] Secure transport and packaging for the initial recovery/transfer.
Training Initial $1K
[#22] Initial SOP/training materials, laminated checklists and initial staff training session.
Archival Containers Initial $600
[#10] Archival-grade sealed bags, tamper-evident seals and small internal lockable boxes (initial purchase).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $159K/yr
Staff Wages $90K/yr
[#7, #8] Personnel costs for audio/tech monitoring (0.5–1.0 FTE recommended) and visual-inspection containment tech time (approx. 0.25–0.5 FTE); combined fully burdened wages.
Program Overhead $30K/yr
[#25] Apportioned central administrative allocation (security command, HR, benefits, building depreciation) charged to the object's program.
Research And Monitoring $17K/yr
[#5, #6, #13, #14, #15] Ongoing cloud backup/subscription and drive replacement, audio analysis software maintenance/licenses, recurring research studies/contractor work, archival/cataloguing staff/software costs, and long-term air-gapped retention compliance tasks.
Minimal Security $6K/yr
[#9] Access control, badge management, occasional guard checks or remote access reviews specific to SCP-1970.
Facilities Maintenance $6K/yr
[#2, #23] Room operational overhead (pro-rated electricity/HVAC/cleaning/repairs/admin) plus marginal electricity for monitoring equipment/UPS.
Cover Story And Legal $3K/yr
[#18, #20] Ongoing small cover-story contingency and legal/ethics/compliance external review budget.
Incident Contingency Replenishment $2K/yr
[#21] Annual replenishment target for the contingency/emergency fund used for overtime, emergency monitoring, or small urgent purchases.
Equipment Maintenance $2K/yr
[#16] Annual maintenance, calibration, UPS battery replacement, microphone and recorder upkeep averaged over multi-year replacement cycles.
Personnel Medical $2K/yr
[#19] Annual medical/psychological screening and counseling budget for assigned staff.
Biosafety Maintenance $1K/yr
[#12] Maintenance/validation and consumables for biosafety/glovebox equipment if retained for potential sampling.
Supplies And Consumables $925/yr
[#10, #11, #24] Replacement sealed-bag consumables, PPE (gloves, wipes, filters) and small office/inspection supplies (logbooks, labels, batteries).
Logistics And Transport $500/yr
[#17] Budgeted per-move transport/logistics averaged over time for occasional transfers.
Training Refresher $500/yr
[#22] Periodic refresher training and SOP updates for staff.
Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $159K/yr
88.0% probability / year
Normal, uneventful year with routine monitoring, inspections and scheduled maintenance only.
no incidents routine maintenance scheduled research activities
🚨 Minor Incident $169K/yr
10.0% probability / year +$10K vs baseline
Small equipment failure or localized issue requiring emergency replacement, overtime monitoring and limited forensic follow-up.
recording chain failure short-term rehousing within site limited accidental damage to containment accessories
🚨 Major Incident $234K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$75K vs baseline
Significant event such as a breach requiring rehousing, full forensic/biological analysis, substantial legal/cover-up expenses and extended monitoring.
unauthorized opening of sealed items contamination / biohazard concern public exposure requiring cover-up/legal action
👥 Personnel 2 total
Role Count Notes
Audio/Tech Specialist (Monitoring) 1 Primary monitoring role (0.5–1.0 FTE recommended); responsible for 24/7 audio chain health and tagging; included in staff_wages.
Containment Technician (Visual Inspections) 1 Performs twice-daily visual inspections and recordkeeping (approx. 0.25–0.5 FTE; position is typically shared or part-time); included in staff_wages.
📋 Confidence Notes
Estimates are based on analyst ranges and typical site apportionments; major uncertainties include whether biosafety sampling will be performed, internal overhead apportionment policy, and frequency of transports/incidents.
← SCP-1969 ↑ All SCPs SCP-1971 →