← SCP Cost Explorer Read on SCP Wiki ↗
SCP-3425 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-3425
Expected annual
$1.1M
One-time setup
$1.2M
Annual recurring
$1.1M
Personnel
11
Estimated one-time setup cost ~ $1.18M driven by containment construction and laboratory instrumentation; recurring annual costs ~ $1.07M driven primarily by staff wages (security + research), per-sample analysis, instrument service contracts, and contingency/reserve funds.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $1.2M
Initial Research And Lab Setup $500K
[#13] Materials-analysis instrumentation (SEM w/EDS, XRD, sample prep, basic materials lab). TEM-level capability excluded from baseline capital (assumed outsourced).
Equipment $348K
[#3, #4, #5, #14, #15, #18, #19, #20, #21] Heavy-handling purchase (gantry/hoist/forklift), access-control hardware, CCTV/thermal cameras/NVR, specialized cutting tools and remote manipulators, initial robotics/teleoperation procurement, initial servers/storage hardware, emergency response equipment, initial PPE, and initial environmental monitors.
Facilities $332K
[#1, #2, #8, #9, #10, #12, #25] Containment chamber construction, floor reinforcement/engineering sign-off, Class D fire suppression installation, HVAC/fume extraction installation, grounding/EM protection installation, secure storage fit-out and a placeholder for decommissioning/archive costs.
Decommissioning And Archival $50K
[#25] Long-term archival, decontamination and decommissioning budget (separate identified one-time need).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.1M/yr
Staff Wages $666K/yr
[#6, #7, #16] Hourly monitoring (technician-assisted automated checks ~$25,500/yr), on-site security staffing (6 guards ≈ $240,000/yr), and dedicated research team salaries (~$400,000/yr).
Research And Monitoring $155K/yr
[#17, #13, #21] Per-sample analysis budget (≈$104,000/yr at ~$1,000/sample), instrument service contracts (~10% of capital ≈ $50,000/yr), and periodic laboratory air sampling/environmental testing.
Contingency Fund $100K/yr
[#24] Operating contingency/reserve fund for incident investigations, emergency repairs, rapid procurement, and unexpected materials.
Cover Story And Legal $70K/yr
[#22, #27] Cover-story maintenance, OPSEC/legal counsel, background checks and internal-equivalent insurance/compliance budget.
Utilities And Overhead $20K/yr
[#26] Incremental utilities, HVAC energy, and facility overhead allocated to containment cell and associated labs.
Equipment Maintenance $16K/yr
[#3, #15, #4] Maintenance for heavy-handling gear (hoists/gantries), robotics/teleoperation upkeep, and access-control system maintenance.
Facilities Maintenance $10K/yr
[#8, #9, #10] Annual inspection/maintenance for Class D suppression, HVAC/fume-extraction servicing, and minor grounding/EM system upkeep.
Logistics And Transport $10K/yr
[#23] Secure internal/external transport and courier costs for samples and artifacts.
Emergency Training $10K/yr
[#19] Annual training, drills, PPE refresh and emergency-response preparedness for fire, electrical and heavy-load incidents.
Supplies And Consumables $5K/yr
[#11, #20] Ongoing procurement of supplied iron sheets/ingots and PPE replacement/consumables.
Data Storage And Archival $5K/yr
[#5, #18] Ongoing costs for secure video/sensor archival, backups, licenses and cybersecurity.
Secure Storage Management $3K/yr
[#12] Annual management, climate control and inventory operations for secure artifact lockers/vaults.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.1M/yr
83.0% probability / year
Normal uneventful year with routine monitoring, scheduled analyses, and no major incidents.
routine monitoring scheduled sample analysis no incident
🚨 Minor Incident $1.1M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$50K vs baseline
Small containment event or distress episode requiring emergency response, limited repairs, and additional analyses.
SCP distress/self-damage localized fire/metal-fume event small equipment repair
🚨 Major Breach $1.3M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$250K vs baseline
Significant containment/structural damage or loss of major equipment requiring major repairs, replacement of instruments, and extensive investigation.
structural damage from movement or impact large-scale equipment failure major safety incident
🚨 Research Scale Up $1.4M/yr
5.0% probability / year +$300K vs baseline
Opportunity or requirement to perform TEM-level characterization, scale experiments, or bring in external high-end services and temporary staff.
demand for TEM/high-end analysis grant-driven scale-up discovery prompting expanded testing
👥 Personnel 11 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 6 [#7] 24/7 security rota (2 guards/shift × 3 shifts) per analyst notes.
Research Scientist (senior) 1 [#16] Senior researcher leading program (1 FTE).
Research Associate 3 [#16] Research associates performing experiments and analyses (2–3 typical).
Technician / Lab Technician 1 [#16, #6] Technician supports instruments, sample prep and performs on-call hourly checks combined with automated monitoring.
📋 Confidence Notes
Notes provide explicit line-item ranges for most costs (construction, instrumentation, staffing), enabling midpoint estimates; uncertainty remains in staffing model choices (monitoring approach), occasional high-cost incidents, and optional TEM acquisition, so confidence is medium.
← SCP-3424 ↑ All SCPs SCP-3426 →