SCP-2938 — SCP-2938 | Cost Breakdown

Read on SCP Wiki ↗

SCP-2938 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-2938

Expected annual

$5.7M

One-time setup

$15.8M

Annual recurring

$4.7M

Personnel

Upfront capital, lab buildout, and specialty equipment are the largest one-time costs (~$15.8M) driven by containment suite construction, on-site waste-treatment options and contingency reserves; recurring annual costs (~$4.7M/yr) are dominated by staff wages, ongoing R&D/monitoring, insurance, waste disposal and maintenance.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $15.8M

Contingency Reserve $10.0M

[#28] One-time reserve fund for large-scale environmental remediation / contingency (site-level reserve; true costs may be far higher).

Equipment $2.7M

[#2, #3, #4, #5, #8, #10, #15, #20, #22, #25] Vacuum chamber and custom inner vessel (#2); initial stock of opaque airtight sacrificial sample vessels (#3); remote manipulators/robotics (#4); initial sensors and telemetry (#5); initial PPE stock (#8); optional on-site waste treatment hardware (#10); backup generators/UPS hardware (#15); transport container/vehicle (#20); initial environmental monitoring stations (#22); secure IT/infrastructure initial hardware (#25).

Facilities $1.5M

[#1] Site 37 wing modification: negative-pressure suite, antechamber/airlock, corrosion-resistant finishes, secondary sump, dedicated HVAC with chemical scrubbers/HEPA, and secure access controls.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $625K

[#6] On-site analytical instrumentation (GC-MS, FTIR, ICP-MS or similar) initial procurement and setup; mid-range instrument set and initial service/setup costs.

Research Program Seed $500K

[#21] Seed funding / capital for initiating long-term neutralization/inhibition R&D program (first-year equipment, pilot studies).

Emergency Response Equipment And Retainer $300K

[#14] One-time purchase/retainer costs for specialized hazmat deployment equipment, inflatable containment domes, mobile decon systems and initial retainer fees.

Containment Modeling Consulting $150K

[#23] One-time consulting and simulation fees for containment-failure modeling, evacuation planning and coordination with local authorities.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $4.7M/yr

Staff Wages $1.4M/yr

[#11, #12] Security personnel (6 guards, three shifts) and scientific team salaries (2 senior scientists, 4 technicians/engineers, 1 hazmat specialist, part-time analytical chemist, plus on-site engineer and medical/admin support).

Research And Monitoring $1.1M/yr

[#6, #21, #22, #23, #29, #13, #5] Instrument service contracts and calibration (#6), recurring R&D program funding (#21), continuous environmental sampling/analysis (#22), periodic drills and modeling follow-ups (#23), red-team independent audits (#29), medical surveillance and bio-monitoring (#13), and sensor maintenance/calibration (#5).

Containment Failure Insurance $500K/yr

[#18] Specialized containment-failure insurance, legal reserves and liability coverage.

Logistics And Transport $425K/yr

[#9, #20, #10] Hazardous waste handling and off-site disposal contracts (#9), armed transport crew staffing/escort protocols (#20), and operating costs for on-site waste-treatment (if installed) (#10).

Contingency Fund Annual Allocation $250K/yr

[#28] Annual allocated funding to contingency / remediation availability (in addition to one-time reserve).

Facilities Maintenance $200K/yr

[#15, #26] Ongoing maintenance of backup power/UPS, HVAC, structural repairs and accelerated replacement of corroded infrastructure/seals/feedthroughs.

Cover Story And Legal $175K/yr

[#19, #30] Legal counsel, compliance, public affairs/cover story maintenance and communications/liaison with local/federal environmental authorities.

Supplies And Consumables $170K/yr

[#7, #3, #8] Laboratory consumables and reagents, replacement sacrificial sample vessels, PPE replacement and consumable vacuum/gasket/spare parts.

Preventative Maintenance $150K/yr

[#17] Recurring preventative maintenance, calibration, spare parts and accelerated replacement due to corrosion.

Emergency Response Upkeep $125K/yr

[#14] Annual retainer/upkeep for contracted hazmat response teams and maintenance of mobile containment/decontamination assets.

Veterinary Support $100K/yr

[#27] Animal ethics board costs, veterinary support and compliant animal containment expenses.

Energy Consumption $90K/yr

[#16] Electricity for continuous vacuum pumps, HVAC, environmental controls and analytical instruments.

Training And Certification $60K/yr

[#24] Recurring specialized training for hazmat operations, robot operators, emergency drills and security protocols.

Secure It Recurring $15K/yr

[#25] Secure data storage, encrypted backups and ongoing IT security costs.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $4.7M/yr

92.0% probability / year

Normal, uneventful operational year with routine research, maintenance and training but no containment incidents.

routine_research regular_maintenance no_incidents

🚨 Minor Incident $5.2M/yr

6.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline

Limited containment event requiring localized cleanup, medical treatment, repairs and increased testing/monitoring.

localized_release medical_treatment accelerated_repairs

🚨 Catastrophic Breach $49.7M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$45.0M vs baseline

Major release leading to large-scale environmental conversion requiring extensive remediation, evacuation and long-term environmental response.

uncontrolled_environmental_release HK-class_conversion large_scale_remediation

👥 Personnel 17 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	6	[#11] Three shifts × two guards; trained in hazmat denial and access control.
Research Scientist	2	[#12] Senior lead and deputy scientists managing program and experiments.
Lab Technician / Engineer	4	[#12] Technicians and bench engineers supporting experiments, maintenance and instrument operation.
Hazardous Materials Specialist	1	[#12] Dedicated hazmat specialist for protocols, decontamination and emergency response coordination.
Analytical Chemist (part-time)	1	[#12] Part-time on-site analytical chemist supporting instrumentation and sample analysis.
Engineer / Maintenance	1	[#15, #17] Site engineer/maintenance technician responsible for UPS/generator, vacuum systems and preventative maintenance.
Medical Officer	1	[#13] Medical surveillance, toxicology screening and emergency medical preparedness.
Administrative Staff	1	[#19, #25] Administrative and compliance support for permits, recordkeeping and cover-story coordination.

📋 Confidence Notes

Estimates are based on analyst line-item ranges and typical institutional costs; wide ranges for several items (on-site waste treatment, R&D program size, and catastrophic remediation) create moderate uncertainty.

← SCP-2937 ↑ All SCPs SCP-2939 →