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SCP-3481 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-3481
Expected annual
$1.3M
One-time setup
$743K
Annual recurring
$1.2M
Personnel
7
Initial capital outlay is modest-to-moderate (~$743k) driven by vault/chamber retrofits and equipment; ongoing annual costs are dominated by staffed security, specialist research salaries, medical monitoring, and an optional long-term research fund (~$1.25M/yr).
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $743K
Facilities $625K
[#1, #2, #18] Containment vault retrofit (#1), dedicated anechoic/isolation testing chamber (#2), and contingency/quarantine expansion capacity set-up (#18). Estimates taken near midpoints of provided ranges to reflect moderate retrofit and chamber work plus small surge-capacity provisioning.
Equipment $73K
[#3, #4, #5, #13] Secure soundproof transport crate (#3), device-level electronic kill-switch and tamper sensors (#4), initial purchase of active/passive hearing protection for containment team (#5 one-time purchase), and one-time surveillance/server systems setup (#13 one-time).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $45K
[#11, #12] Audio forensics and lab equipment one-time purchases (#11) and custom hardware/tooling for data-access attempts (decapping, microsolder rigs) (#12).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.2M/yr
Staff Wages $590K/yr
[#6, #7] 24/7 staffed security detail (4 guards, fully loaded) (#6) and dedicated research team salaries for anomalous/audio/memetic specialists (2–3 FTE) (#7).
Long Term Research Fund $300K/yr
[#19] Ongoing multi-year research funding for deeper memetic/neuro studies (conservative lower-end program assumed).
Research And Monitoring $174K/yr
[#8, #9, #10, #11] On-call medical/psychological baseline and acute-response budget (#8), audiology baseline testing and annual monitoring for staff (#9), D-class testing operational costs (baseline testing cadence assumed, #10), and software maintenance/licenses for audio-forensics (#11 recurring).
Cover Story And Legal $75K/yr
[#17, #22] Cover/compartmentalization, legal/communications and PR contingency (#17) plus administrative overhead and classified recordkeeping/clearance processing (#22).
Occupational Health Reserve $50K/yr
[#20] Occupational health insurance, worker compensation reserves, and incident payout reserve for severe cases/permanent injuries.
Logistics And Transport $30K/yr
[#15] Annual budget for secure transports and movement staffing, vehicle maintenance and specialized vehicle modifications, based on moderate transport frequency.
Facilities Maintenance $12K/yr
[#13, #14] Ongoing surveillance/storage upkeep and server costs (#13 recurring), HVAC/electrical/UPS operational and maintenance for containment vault (#14).
Training And Drills $12K/yr
[#16] Annual training, drills, SOP development and revision for researchers, security, and medical staff.
Supplies And Consumables $4K/yr
[#5, #21] Recurring replacement of hearing-protection consumables and disposable earplugs/spares (#5 recurring) and routine consumables/small tools for handling and evidence preservation (#21).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.2M/yr
73.0% probability / year
Normal uneventful year with routine testing, maintenance, and staff costs; no major incidents or scale-ups.
no major incidents normal testing cadence standard staffing and maintenance
🚨 Minor Incident $1.3M/yr
15.0% probability / year +$50K vs baseline
One or two isolated exposure incidents causing short-term hospitalizations, increased psych/ENT interventions, and modest incident-response costs.
single severe exposure temporary surge psych services small medical hospitalization(s)
🚨 Major Breach $1.9M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$700K vs baseline
Containment failure or experiment resulting in multiple affected personnel, requiring quarantine expansion, large incident payouts, repairs, and significant PR/legal response.
multi-subject adverse event containment breach during testing public exposure or large medical surge
🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $1.7M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Discovery that warrants rapid expansion of research (additional hires, equipment, trials), increasing annual research spending substantially.
promising memetic/neuro findings funding approved for expanded trials need for additional specialized hires/equipment
👥 Personnel 7 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 4 [#6] 24/7 dedicated armed guards (4 guards assumed to cover shifts, leave, and continuous presence).
Research Scientist 3 [#7] Dedicated anomalous/audio/memetic specialists (2–3 FTE; 3 used here to match staff_wages allocation).
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges, enabling a reasoned estimate; however many items have wide ranges (e.g., long-term research fund, retrofit scope, incident costs) and assumptions were required for testing cadence and program scale, so confidence is medium.
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