SCP-226 — SCP-226 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-226 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-226

Expected annual

$187K

One-time setup

$103K

Annual recurring

$182K

Personnel

Initial one-time containment and IT/setup costs are moderate (~$100k) driven by room retrofit, secure IT, and SOP/training development; recurring annual costs are dominated by staff wages, psychology support, IT/security, legal/PR and overhead (~$174k/year).

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $103K

Facilities $15K

[#2] Dedicated small containment room / bench area: minor retrofit assumed (mid-range).

Cover Story Creation $10K

[#16] Cover story creation / administrative paperwork (initial creation and rollout).

Incident Response Initial Fund $10K

[#10] Initial incident response contingency fund allocation (seed reserve).

Classified Coordination Policy $10K

[#25] Contingency policy work for classified-entity cross-contamination concerns (initial policy/coordination setup).

Experimental Study Budget $10K

[#21] Experimental protocol and statistical study budget (baseline/small study allocation).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $9K

[#12, #13] Forensic/materials analysis assays and high-resolution imaging/scanning equipment (lab instruments and imaging hardware).

Training Program Development $8K

[#6] Formal handling protocol & training program development (SOP creation, training materials).

It Security Initial $8K

[#14] Classified data storage & IT security initial setup (encrypted servers, restricted DBs).

Equipment $8K

[#1, #3, #4] Secure containment locker (safe), CCTV camera hardware, secure transport case.

Personnel Vetting $6K

[#5] Initial background checks and psychological screening for authorized staff (5–10 staff, mid-range).

Decommissioning Budget $5K

[#27] Disposal / decommissioning plan budget (planning and approvals).

Archival Setup $4K

[#20] Initial archival and cataloging of discovered images (setup of archive & metadata system).

Ppe Initial $400

[#11] PPE and consumables initial purchase (gloves, bags, wipes).

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $182K/yr

Staff Wages $78K/yr

[#8, #18, #17] Dedicated research technician (0.75 FTE ~1 headcount), security staffing (0.5 FTE assigned), and administrative support portion; salaries/benefits.

Overhead $23K/yr

[#28] Opportunity cost / administrative overhead (30% applied to personnel costs as mid-range of 20–40%).

Psychological Support And Counseling $15K/yr

[#9] On-call psychologist/psychiatrist contract and short-term counseling budget (baseline annual retainer).

Cover Story And Legal $12K/yr

[#15] Legal retainer and PR/online-takedown budget (information-security & leak response team retainer costs).

Administrative Auditing $10K/yr

[#17] Information classification & access auditing labor (0.1–0.25 FTE equivalent administrative work).

Logistics And Transport $5K/yr

[#4] Annual courier/chain-of-custody labor for inter-site transport.

Incident Response Reserve $5K/yr

[#10] Ongoing replenishment/reserve contributions to incident response contingency fund.

It Security Maintenance $5K/yr

[#14] IT security maintenance, monitoring, and regular security reviews for classified storage systems.

Classified Coordination $5K/yr

[#25] Ongoing coordination and auditing for classified-entity cross-contamination concerns.

Refresher Training $5K/yr

[#6, #7] Annual refresher training and staff hours (trainer fees + staff time).

Cctv Storage And Maintenance $3K/yr

[#3] Secure encrypted storage, recording retention, and CCTV maintenance.

Containment Audits $3K/yr

[#22] Periodic containment review and certification audits.

Liability Insurance $3K/yr

[#26] Incremental liability insurance / workers' compensation premium uplift for psychological injury coverage.

Archival Maintenance $2K/yr

[#20] Ongoing archival cataloging, metadata maintenance, and redaction-ready storage upkeep.

Digital Redaction Software $2K/yr

[#24] Digital redaction and content-control software licenses and updates.

Ethics Oversight $2K/yr

[#19] Ethical review and consent procedures oversight costs (annual IRB/ad-hoc oversight).

Hardware Replacement $2K/yr

[#23] Replacement and maintenance budget for locks, cameras, seals, and minor repairs.

Facilities Maintenance $1K/yr

[ ] General minor facility maintenance (bench, door locks, signage).

Research And Monitoring $1K/yr

[#8, #13] Ongoing dedicated research time beyond wages (capture sessions, small operational monitoring).

Supplies And Consumables $600/yr

[#11] PPE and consumables replenishment (gloves, bags, wipes).

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $182K/yr

91.0% probability / year

Normal year with routine research, maintenance, and no major incidents or leaks.

routine operations scheduled audits periodic research openings

🚨 Minor Incident $204K/yr

8.0% probability / year +$22K vs baseline

A single minor psychological exposure or small leak requiring counseling, short-term replacement staffing, and limited PR/takedown.

subject acute distress small online leak of imagery limited medical leave

🚨 Major Incident $468K/yr

1.0% probability / year +$286K vs baseline

Significant breach or mass exposure causing major medical/legal/PR costs, extended investigations, and prolonged remediation.

major unauthorized disclosure multiple severe psychological injuries legal action or public exposure

👥 Personnel 3 total

Role	Count	Notes
Research Technician / Junior Researcher	1	[#8] Dedicated research time (0.5–1.0 FTE; modeled as ~0.75 FTE -> 1 headcount).
Security Officer / MTF Agent	1	[#18] Security presence for openings (0.25–0.5 FTE assigned across objects; modeled as one shared guard).
Administrative Staff	1	[#17] Information classification & access auditing admin work (0.1–0.25 FTE; modeled as shared administrative support).

📋 Confidence Notes

Line items are well-identified in analyst notes but many ranges were wide; numbers use mid-range assumptions and conservative choices for staffing and reserves. Incident probabilities are expert estimates with notable uncertainty.

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