SCP-3401 — SCP-3401 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-3401 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-3401

Expected annual

$313K

One-time setup

$75K

Annual recurring

$298K

Personnel

One-time startup costs are modest (~$75k) for secure locker, imaging/IT and initial legal/ethics setup; main recurring drivers are staff wages (security + technician), forensic/medical analyses, and incident readiness leading to an annual baseline near $298k.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $75K

Equipment $32K

[#3, #20, #21, #22] One-time CCTV/camera/hardware, initial secure IT/LIMS hardware, high-resolution imaging/audio instrumentation, and contingency non-anomalous prop replacement budget.

Facilities $16K

[#1] Physical rated anomalous-item locker installation, mounting, tamper-proof lock and firewalling from other storage.

Legal And Permits Initial $12K

[#6] Initial legal setup, permits, records management and paperwork to legally possess/transport cremains.

Human Subjects Compliance Initial $6K

[#13] Initial human-subjects compliance, IRB/ethics setup and informed consent framework (one-time).

Decontamination Protocol Development $5K

[#18] SOP development, validation testing and specialized cleaning solutions for teapot handling.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $4K

[#10] Small-scale lab equipment (kettles, scales, microscopes, temperature loggers) for brewing/testing (one-time).

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $298K/yr

Staff Wages $155K/yr

[#4, #5] Minimal security staffing (2 guards, business-hours coverage) and 1 containment/custodian technician FTE.

Research And Monitoring $25K/yr

[#11] Chemical/forensic analysis runs (GC-MS/LC-MS or contract lab work) for ash/brew/SCP-3401-1 analyses.

Medical Monitoring And Emergency $20K/yr

[#14] Pre/post-ingestion medical checks, on-call medical staff, bloodwork and emergency response readiness (annualized for modest testing cadence).

Facilities Maintenance $15K/yr

[#2] Dedicated secure room/cabinet space overhead including proportional utilities, maintenance and facility admin.

Cover Story And Legal $15K/yr

[#6, #25] Ongoing legal counsel, permits renewals, records redaction and public/partner liaison / disinformation payments.

Toxicology And Pathology $10K/yr

[#12] Specialist toxicologist/pathologist consults and related testing services.

Incident Response $10K/yr

[#23] Annual reserve for incident response, breach investigation readiness and rapid-forensic costs.

Health And Safety Insurance $10K/yr

[#27] Insurance and liability reserve for staff who handle or ingest human-derived anomalous material.

Psychological Evaluation $8K/yr

[#16] Pre/post-test counseling and psychological follow-up for personnel/volunteers.

Human Subjects Compliance $5K/yr

[#13] Ongoing IRB/ethics oversight, consent renewals and compliance administration.

Biohazard Disposal $5K/yr

[#17] Regulated incineration/crematory disposal and manifesting for used SCP-3401-1 remnants and contaminated utensils.

Logistics And Transport $3K/yr

[#7] Chain-of-custody secure courier and shipment costs (annualized estimate for routine transfers).

It And Data Management $3K/yr

[#20] Secure LIMS/evidence management licensing, backups and IT maintenance for encrypted logs, video and sample provenance.

Training And Sop Refreshers $3K/yr

[#26] Annual/operator training on handling, ingestion protocols, chain-of-custody and emergency procedures.

Supplies And Consumables $2K/yr

[#9, #19] PPE (gloves, aprons, shields), distilled water, single-use utensils, sample vials, labels and routine consumables.

Volunteer Compensation $2K/yr

[#15] Payments/compensation to outside volunteers or contracted tasters (baseline minimal use).

Lab Equipment Maintenance $2K/yr

[#10, #21] Maintenance/calibration for kettles, microscopes, imaging/audio gear and sensors.

Acquisition Of Cremains $2K/yr

[#8] Procurement costs for cremains (variable; baseline assumes occasional paid acquisitions rather than all-volunteer donations).

Misc Instrumentation Replacement $2K/yr

[#28] Minor instrumentation, replacement kettles, spoons, batteries and consumable replacements due to wear or breakage.

Cctv And Monitoring Maintenance $1K/yr

[#3] Video storage, retention, tamper alarm maintenance and logging storage costs.

Decontamination Maintenance $1K/yr

[#18] Ongoing consumables and training to support decontamination SOPs; single-use liners or specialized cleaning supplies.

Research Program $0/yr

[#24] Optional multi-year focused research team costs (150k–500k/yr if activated); baseline does not fund a dedicated program.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $298K/yr

83.0% probability / year

Normal, uneventful year with routine testing and no major incidents or large-scale research program.

routine_operations occasional_testing no_breach

🚨 Minor Incident $308K/yr

10.0% probability / year +$10K vs baseline

Small equipment failure, localized contamination, or a minor unauthorized access requiring modest response and replacement.

equipment_failure minor_exposure small_contamination

🚨 Major Breach $498K/yr

2.0% probability / year +$200K vs baseline

Unauthorized public access or significant exposure event requiring large-scale forensic investigation, legal mitigation and possible replacement/cover operations.

unauthorized_access public_exposure large_scale_investigation

🚨 Research Program $498K/yr

5.0% probability / year +$200K vs baseline

Organization elects to fund a sustained research program (multi-year team) to study flavor/cause-of-death correlations and mechanisms.

scale_up_research dedicated_PI_and_techs expanded_analysis

👥 Personnel 3 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	2	[#4] Two guards to cover business-hours (overtime/standby as needed); used to calculate security portion of staff wages.
Containment Technician	1	[#5] One certified technician for routine checks, transfers, logs and test handling.

📋 Confidence Notes

Containment and operational needs are well-described (Safe-class, teapot locker, testing protocol), allowing medium confidence in staffing/recurring estimates; uncertainty remains in frequency of acquisitions, testing cadence, and discretionary choices (research program vs. minimal ops), so cost ranges are approximate.

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