SCP-2978 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-2978
Expected annual
$1.0M
One-time setup
$1.9M
Annual recurring
$1.0M
Personnel
10
First-year setup is approximately $1.94M one-time driven by containment retrofit, high-speed imaging/storage infrastructure, and specialized equipment; ongoing annual operations are ~ $1.01M driven by staffing, data storage/analysis, security and EOD readiness.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $1.9M
Equipment $918K
[#2, #3, #4, #6, #7, #11, #14, #22, #24] High-speed HD camera array and microscopes, micro-manipulators/robotics, initial on-premise servers/RAID/tape archive, UPS/generator and electrical upgrades, procurement of vintage hardware inventory (initial), explosive mitigation fixtures, microfabrication hardware, initial physical prevention hardware (sealed USB blocks/lockable ports), and environmental sensors (initial).
Facilities $538K
[#1, #8, #21] Containment chamber retrofit (biometric/HEPA/anteroom), secure vintage-hardware quarantine room/racks, and site integration/cabling/fiber/network security cabling and physical installation.
Contingency Reserve Seed $200K
[#25] Initial contingency / catastrophic escalation reserve seed for repairs, liability, emergency procurements.
Redundant Isolation Fund Seed $150K
[#20] Seed fund to rapidly purchase and convert additional compatible hardware during population surges or urgent expansion.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $135K
[#5, #16] Initial monitoring/analysis software and AI-assisted model development/licenses; one-time chemical/forensic characterization and lab research setup specific costs.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.0M/yr
Staff Wages $450K/yr
[#9] Salaries, benefits and clearance premiums for dedicated containment research staff (lead + technicians) and rotating on-call coverage.
Research And Monitoring $250K/yr
[#4, #5, #16, #26, #27] Ongoing data storage/expansion & archival maintenance, software/ML maintenance and compute costs, periodic chemical follow-ups, ongoing research experiment budgets and ethics reviews, plus transcription/archival/redaction tools and services.
Cover Story And Legal $125K/yr
[#18] Annual legal/cover-story/PR retainer and preparedness capacity for potential public exposure or liaison with local authorities.
Medical And Occupational Health $65K/yr
[#12] On-site first-response, trauma care readiness, occupational screening and psychological support following traumatic events or contamination.
Eod On Call And Training $30K/yr
[#11] On-call EOD retainer, refresher training, and small recurring costs related to explosive-mitigation readiness.
Logistics And Transport $25K/yr
[#7, #17] Vintage-hardware replenishment/sourcing logistics and routine hazardous/e-waste disposal hauling and documentation.
Pest Control And Quarantine $25K/yr
[#13] Routine staff screening, laundering, PPE, insecticidal treatments, quarantine procedural overhead following ectoparasite risks.
Facilities Maintenance $15K/yr
[#1] Routine maintenance of containment chamber infrastructure (HEPA filters, sealed flooring, anteroom systems) and minor site upkeep.
Supplies And Consumables $15K/yr
[#15] Consumables for microscopy and handling (slides, oils, adhesives, gloves, ESD supplies, lamps, cleaners).
Incident Investigation Retainer $10K/yr
[#23] Small annual budget to maintain rapid-response investigation capability and access to forensic transcription/experts; major incident costs budgeted in scenarios.
Microfabrication Consumables $3K/yr
[#14] Consumables for micro-engraving / microfabrication (diamond bits, adhesives, etc.).
Physical Prevention Replacements $1K/yr
[#22] Annual replacements for tamper-evident seals, lockable dummy ports, and related prevention hardware.
Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.0M/yr
89.0% probability / year
Normal operational year with no major incidents; routine monitoring, staffing, maintenance and data management continue.
steady_operations no_major_incidents
🚨 Minor Incident $1.1M/yr
8.0% probability / year +$75K vs baseline
Localized explosive event or small containment incident causing limited equipment damage, minor staff injury, EOD response and investigation.
localized_explosion minor_shrapnel_injury single_hardware_loss
🚨 Major Breach $1.8M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$750K vs baseline
Significant containment breach or escape (e.g., converted aerial device leaving containment) leading to site-wide response, repairs, legal/PR action and large-scale disposal/replacement.
containment_breach public_exposure large_scale_hardware_replacement
🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $1.2M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$200K vs baseline
Unexpected population surge or experimental result requires rapid expansion of compatible hardware and accelerated staffing/equipment deployment.
population_surge rapid_conversion_events urgent_hardware_procurement
👥 Personnel 10 total
Role Count Notes
Research Scientist 1 [#9] Lead researcher responsible for experiments, oversight and protocol approvals.
Research Technician / Analyst 3 [#9] Technicians for 24/7 observation scheduling, microscopy, data capture and sample handling (rotating shifts).
Security Officer / MTF Agent 6 [#10] 24/7 dedicated guard coverage (3 shifts × 2 guards) to enforce access limits and respond to incidents.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide itemized ranges and qualitative history (explosion, escape) giving a moderate basis for estimates; uncertainty remains in storage retention policy, frequency/severity of explosive events, and vintage-hardware market pricing, so midpoint estimates were used.
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