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SCP-2656 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-2656
Expected annual
$1.9M
One-time setup
$3.3M
Annual recurring
$1.9M
Personnel
19
Estimated initial capital and setup costs are approximately $3,300,000, with recurring annual operations around $1,880,000. Main cost drivers are specialized shielding and chamber construction, remote-handling / instrumentation equipment, and ongoing staff/security wages and medical/readiness costs.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $3.3M
Facilities $1.6M
[#1, #14, #26] Purpose-built or converted radiological testing chamber (18 m diameter/9 m clearance) plus decontamination fit-out and one-time HVAC/filtration upgrades (design, permits, shielding integration).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $435K
[#4, #7, #15, #20] Radiation shielding procurement/validation, high-end spectral/EM detection instrumentation, archival/digitization equipment for film/media, and secure/classified IT/archive initial setup.
Equipment $355K
[#2, #3, #5, #6, #12, #21] Emergency power cutoff and dedicated circuit, backup generator/UPS (one-time hardware), remote handling/robotic film insertion, remote audiovisual systems, initial PPE stock, and initial specialized tooling/spares.
Contingency Fund One Time $200K
[#28] One-time contingency/reserve fund (recommended 10–20% of initial program capital for unknown anomalous behavior).
Decommissioning Reserve $200K
[#30] One-time reserve estimate for potential decommissioning / major remediation (contamination-dependent).
Rapid Response Team One Time $150K
[#22] One-time purchase/equipment/training costs to stand up a dedicated rapid-response / breach team (mobile shielding, transport caskets, drills equipment).
Post Exposure Medical Per Incident $100K
[#23] One-time acute medical/compensation cost per exposed/affected person (initial treatment/compensation estimate).
Contaminated Disposal Per Incident $60K
[#13] Per-significant-disposal event licensed radioactive disposal / transport / storage cost.
Public Cover Per Incident $50K
[#19] Per-incident crisis PR / witness management / cover operations budget (per incident).
Legal And Compliance One Time $40K
[#18] Initial licensing, regulatory setup, environmental permits and legal footprint establishment.
Sop Development $35K
[#25] One-time development of SOPs, training curricula and certification materials.
Imaging Per Incident $30K
[#11] Per-incident acute imaging / emergency advanced imaging costs (CT/MRI) for exposed individuals.
Transport Per Transfer $20K
[#17] Per-transfer secure transport container, escort and route-planning cost (per transfer event).
Autopsy Per Incident $20K
[#24] Per-fatality autopsy, pathology and secure sample curation event cost.
Personal Dosimeters Initial $15K
[#8] Initial issue of personal dosimeters, centralized readers and record-keeping hardware.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.9M/yr
Staff Wages $1.4M/yr
[#9, #10, #11] Security staffing, research scientists, technicians, radiation safety officer and medical personnel salaries / benefits (ongoing payroll).
Research And Monitoring $101K/yr
[#4, #5, #6, #7, #15, #16, #20] Periodic shielding revalidation/calibration, remote-handling maintenance, AV storage and maintenance, specialized instrument calibration, non-human surrogate testing program and secure IT operations.
Contingency Fund Annual Reserve $100K/yr
[#28] Annual reserve contribution to maintain contingency fund for unexpected failures or remediation.
Rapid Response Team Recurring $50K/yr
[#22] Annual drills, retention/on-call pay and equipment upkeep for rapid-response capabilities.
Long Term Refurbishment Amortization $50K/yr
[#30] Annualized reserve for major 5–10 year refurbishments (amortized annual allocation).
Facilities Maintenance $45K/yr
[#3, #14, #26] Generator/fuel maintenance and testing, decontamination systems maintenance, HVAC/filtration operations and facility minor repairs.
Opportunity Costs $40K/yr
[#27] Administrative / executive time and re-prioritization overhead (0.1–0.5 FTE equivalent).
Supplies And Consumables $39K/yr
[#8, #12, #15, #21, #29] PPE replacement, dosimeter replacement/calibration, archival consumables and small tools/consumables replenishment.
Cover Story And Legal $30K/yr
[#18, #19] Ongoing licensing/compliance renewals, local authority interactions and limited annual cover/PR retainer.
Contaminated Waste Disposal $30K/yr
[#13] Baseline annual licensed disposal and handling for low-volume contaminated materials.
Training And Certification $20K/yr
[#25] Recurrent staff training, drills, certifications and SOP refresher courses.
Post Exposure Longterm Followup Per Case $20K/yr
[#23] Annual long-term medical/psychological monitoring cost per exposed survivor (applied per-case when needed).
Logistics And Transport $10K/yr
[#17] Routine logistics, route planning and insurance baseline (per-transfer costs treated separately as per-event).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.9M/yr
94.0% probability / year
Normal operational year with no containment incidents; routine testing, maintenance and staffing costs only.
normal_testing routine_maintenance
🚨 Minor Incident $2.1M/yr
5.0% probability / year +$180K vs baseline
Single accidental exposure or contamination event requiring medical imaging, one post-exposure treatment, licensed disposal and limited public/ legal mitigation.
single_exposure small_contamination_disposal limited_public_cover
🚨 Major Incident $3.2M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$1.3M vs baseline
Multi-person exposure, fatalities and broad contamination requiring multiple autopsies, extensive disposal, major PR/cover operations, emergency rapid-response deployment and possible partial decommissioning/remediation.
multiple_exposures large_disposal_event public_exposure_or_breach
👥 Personnel 19 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 8 [#9] 24/7 coverage: 2guards per shift, 3 shifts plus supervisors/roving response overlap; fully-burdened staffing estimate.
Research Scientist 4 [#10] Multi-disciplinary researchers for experiments and anomalous research (radiation/electronics specialists).
Technician 2 [#10] Laboratory/robotics/AV technicians for remote handling and media management.
Radiation Safety Officer 1 [#10, #4, #7] Dedicated RSO responsible for dosimetry, shielding validation and regulatory compliance.
Medical Officer 2 [#11] On-call medics trained in radiological exposure and neurological trauma; support for testing and incident response.
Engineer / Maintenance 1 [#3, #5, #6, #26] Engineer for generators, HVAC, remote-handling and systems maintenance.
Administrative Staff 1 [#18, #27] Administrative / compliance support for permits, licensing, record-keeping and opportunity-cost oversight.
📋 Confidence Notes
Notes provide detailed line-item ranges for nearly every cost driver, allowing a reasoned mid-range estimate; uncertainties remain around shielding requirements, frequency/severity of incidents, and decommissioning scope, so confidence is medium.
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