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SCP-3236 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-3236
Expected annual
$543K
One-time setup
$174K
Annual recurring
$524K
Personnel
4
Initial setup requires moderate capital (tank, autoclave, room retrofit) of approximately $173.5k; annual operating costs are dominated by staff wages, depreciation and a scalability contingency, totaling roughly $524.0k/yr.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $174K
Facilities $60K
[#3] Dedicated containment room retrofit (sealed drains, reinforced door, HVAC zoning, nonporous surfaces).
Equipment $58K
[#1, #2, #10] Containment tank capital (#1), tank plumbing/recirculation systems (#2), autoclave/decontamination equipment (#10).
Sop Development $10K
[#18] Initial SOP writing and initial hands-on training / development costs.
Background Checks Initial $10K
[#22] Initial background checks and security vetting for staff with access.
Cctv And Alarms $8K
[#5] Fixed cameras, redundant recording, tamper detection and UPS (one-time installation).
Sample Storage $8K
[#14] Purchase of small -20/4°C freezer or equivalent, alarmed monitoring hardware (one-time).
Access Control And Audit Logging $6K
[#4] Biometric/keycard readers, tamper switches and one-time software/setup costs.
Records System $6K
[#21] Secure records management server procurement / one-time deployment costs.
Transport Containers $5K
[#15] Rigid secure transport containers for transfers (one-time purchase).
Emergency Response Kit $3K
[#23] Portable spill containment, neutralizers and emergency PPE (one-time kit purchase).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $0
[]
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $524K/yr
Staff Wages $270K/yr
[#6, #7] Security staffing (2 guards @ ~$45k/yr) and research staff (1 senior researcher ~$120k + 1 technician ~$60k).
Scalability Contingency $121K/yr
[#30] Contingency for increased experiment frequency/scope, set to 30% of baseline recurring operating costs (per note #30 guidance).
Research And Monitoring $34K/yr
[#13, #14, #16, #17, #18, #26] Laboratory consumables and analytical testing (#13), sample-storage energy/monitoring (#14), medical monitoring of staff (#16), psychological support (#17), annual refresher training/fit-testing (#18), containment validation/environmental monitoring (#26).
Cover Story And Legal $28K/yr
[#19, #21, #22, #27] Legal/consent management and cover/legitimization budgets (#19), recurring records/cloud licensing (#21), ongoing personnel monitoring/background rechecks (#22), insurance and legal contingency reserve (#27).
Depreciation And Amortization $26K/yr
[#28] Annual depreciation reserve (approx. 15% of initial capital expenditures) to plan replacements.
Supplies And Consumables $23K/yr
[#8, #9, #11, #23, #29] PPE replacement (#8), per-use cleaning/disinfection costs (#9), regulated-waste handling (#11), emergency kit replenishment (#23), miscellaneous consumables (#29).
Equipment Maintenance $8K/yr
[#25] Routine servicing, calibration and replacement reserve for pumps, autoclave, sensors and HVAC components.
Logistics And Transport $5K/yr
[#15] Per-transfer logistics, secure packaging and courier/escort costs for periodic transfers.
Ethics Oversight $4K/yr
[#20] Administrative costs for ethics/oversight committee meetings, documentation and reviews.
Facilities Maintenance $2K/yr
[#24] Ongoing facility-level utilities/HVAC servicing and related site maintenance for containment zone.
Effluent Treatment $2K/yr
[#12] On-site neutralization/holding costs or increased municipal wastewater fees for tank effluent.
Cctv Maintenance $600/yr
[#5] Annual maintenance, storage and small repairs for CCTV/tamper alarm systems.
Access Control Support $500/yr
[#4] Annual software/support/license costs for access control and audit logging.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $524K/yr
90.0% probability / year
Normal year with routine experiments and no major incidents.
routine use scheduled maintenance regular training
🚨 Minor Incident $569K/yr
8.0% probability / year +$45K vs baseline
Localized contamination, minor equipment damage, or a medical exposure requiring extra testing and short downtime.
probe/tank contamination minor equipment failure single-person exposure
🚨 Major Breach $1.3M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$750K vs baseline
Significant containment failure or public exposure requiring major legal, replacement and PR expenses plus containment upgrades.
public exposure major equipment destruction prolonged litigation/insurance claims
👥 Personnel 4 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 2 [#6] Two guards to provide authorized-access coverage during experiments (wages included in staff_wages).
Research Scientist 1 [#7] Senior researcher to supervise experiments and approve use (salary included in staff_wages).
Technician / Research Assistant 1 [#7] Trained technician to run experiments, cleaning and maintenance tasks (salary included in staff_wages).
📋 Confidence Notes
Estimates are order-of-magnitude based on analyst ranges and assumed experiment frequency; core capital items are clear but recurring costs (usage frequency, site-provided services, and contingency sizing) introduce uncertainty.
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