SCP-3496 — SCP-3496 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-3496 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-3496

Expected annual

$752K

One-time setup

$4.1M

Annual recurring

$733K

Personnel

2.45

One-time capital (possible dedicated MRI and incinerator) dominates initial costs (~$2.13M if purchased); annual recurring costs are driven by MRI operational time, containment technician wages, consumables, contractor retainer, and overhead (~$697k/yr baseline).

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $4.1M

Facilities $2.1M

[#1, #8, #18] Includes retrofit of a secure, insect‑proof storage locker ($12,500 midpoint of $5k–$20k), on‑site small incinerator purchase ($85,000 midpoint of $50k–$120k) and minor HVAC/insect‑proofing structural adjustments ($5,500 midpoint of $1k–$10k).

Equipment $2.0M

[#3, #19] Dedicated small‑bore MRI or specialised coil purchase and installation (midpoint $2,000,000 of $1M–$3M) plus monitoring hardware/cameras/sensors ($4,000 midpoint of $2k–$6k).

Medical Initial Stock $20K

[#11] Initial purchase of antivenom/emergency stock estimated at midpoint $20,000 ($10k–$30k).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $0

[]

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $733K/yr

Mri Scanning Operational $200K/yr

[#2] Twice‑daily MRI operational marginal costs (machine time, technologist, QA, consumables) set to midpoint ~$200,000/yr.

Staff Wages $191K/yr

[#4, #5, #15] 2 FTE containment technicians (~$150,000/yr mid), entomology specialist consulting (0.2 FTE ~$16,000/yr mid), and part‑time research staff (~$25,000/yr mid) summed to ~$191,000/yr.

Facilities Maintenance $91K/yr

[#22] Administrative/site overhead calculated as 15% of direct recurring costs (see notes) to represent Site‑77 apportioned overhead and utilities. (Range indicated in notes: 10–25%.)

Mri Maintenance $50K/yr

[#3] Annual maintenance for a dedicated MRI or specialised coil (if purchased) estimated at $50,000/yr.

Supplies And Consumables $36K/yr

[#9] Consumables for twice‑daily treatments (antifungal, antiseptic, chlorine conditioner) midrange estimate ≈ $36,000/yr.

Misc Contingency $30K/yr

[#25] Miscellaneous reserve for unpredictable specialized handling, surge events, or settlements midpoint ~$30,000/yr.

Research And Monitoring $21K/yr

[#12, #13, #23] Taxonomic sampling & sequencing (~$4,000/yr), specimen preservation/storage (~$1,250/yr), and data analysis/long‑term study funds (~$12,500/yr) totaling ~$21,750 rounded to $21,000.

Wilsons Contract Retainer $20K/yr

[#6] Annual retainer and expected per‑event handling budget for Wilson's Wildlife Solutions / BPR‑64 (midpoint ~$20,000/yr).

Cover Story And Legal $15K/yr

[#6, #17, #21] Wilson's/BPR‑64 retainer and per‑use handling fees (~$20,000/yr mid), legal/permitting and compliance (~$8,500/yr mid), and outreach/cover stipend (~$6,500/yr mid). Combined line items are captured here but broken out in individual keys as well; this field summarizes cover/legal direction.

Data Analysis $12K/yr

[#23] Data analysis, seasonality studies, and longer‑term study fund midpoint ~$12,500/yr.

Emergency Response Reserve $10K/yr

[#16] Annual reserve for pest control contingency and small response incidents; per‑incident costs range widely ($2k–$50k); budgeted ~$10k/yr as a standing contingency.

Legal And Permits $8K/yr

[#17] Permits, insurance, and legal counsel retainer midpoint ~$8,500/yr.

Medical Maintenance And Training $6K/yr

[#11] Annual replacement/rotation of stock antivenoms/epipens (~$3,000/yr) plus occupational health and training (~$3,500/yr) => ~$6,500/yr.

Outreach Cover $6K/yr

[#21] Small annual stipend/payments to contractors to maintain plausible deniability and cover arrangements midpoint ~$6,500/yr.

Ppe And Decon $6K/yr

[#10] PPE, decontamination supplies, and autoclave consumables estimated midpoint ~$5,500/yr.

Audit Incident Sim $5K/yr

[#24] Annual containment audit and incident simulation exercises midpoint ~$5,000/yr.

External Biohazard Disposal $5K/yr

[#8] External biomedical waste disposal midpoint ~$4,800/yr ($200–$600 monthly shipments).

Incinerator Operation $4K/yr

[#8] If on‑site incinerator is used, expected operation/maintenance midpoint ~$4,000/yr ($2k–$6k).

Taxonomic Sequencing $4K/yr

[#12] Representative sequencing/barcoding at ~$100–$300/sample; estimate assumes ~20 distinct samples/yr => ~$4,000/yr.

Record Keeping $3K/yr

[#14] IT storage, backups, and documentation maintenance estimated midpoint ~$3,000/yr.

Annual Training $3K/yr

[#20] Annual refresher training and certification for containment techs estimated ~$3,000/yr.

Logistics And Transport $2K/yr

[#7] Secure transport, chain‑of‑custody, and per‑transfer consumables: midpoint ~$2,100/yr (assumes 1–5 transfers/yr).

Specimen Preservation $1K/yr

[#13] Ethanol, vials, cold storage, cataloguing estimated midpoint ~$1,250/yr.

Hvac Incremental Energy $1K/yr

[#18] Incremental energy/HVAC costs to maintain locker climate control estimated midpoint ~$1,250/yr.

Monitoring Sensors Maintenance $1K/yr

[#19] Maintenance and replacement parts for cameras/sensors estimated midpoint ~$1,250/yr.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $733K/yr

87.0% probability / year

Normal year with regular twice‑daily MRI scans, routine consumables, contractor retainer, staffing, and maintenance; no major incidents or capital purchases.

routine_operations no_major_incidents

🚨 Minor Incident $712K/yr

10.0% probability / year +$-21000 vs baseline

Small internal infestation or single‑site escape requiring targeted fumigation, extra disposal shipments, and limited PR or contractor mobilization.

small_escape localized_infestation limited_pest_control

🚨 Major Infestation $757K/yr

2.0% probability / year +$24K vs baseline

Large infestation or public exposure requiring site‑wide fumigation, extended contractor engagement, legal/PR costs, and intensive remediation.

widespread_escape public_exposure large_pest_campaign

🚨 Purchase Mri And Incinerator $2.8M/yr

1.0% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline

Decision/year in which site purchases a dedicated small‑bore MRI (or specialised coil with installation/shielding) and an on‑site incinerator to remove reliance on shared medical assets.

lack_of_mri_capacity decision_to_internalize_operations avoid_medical_interference

👥 Personnel 2.45 total

Role	Count	Notes
Containment Technician	2	[#4] Two full‑time equivalent containment technicians required to run twice‑daily scans, handling, and treatments (covers shift rotation and leave).
Research Scientist	0.25	[#15] Part‑time research staff for experiments and reporting (~0.1–0.3 FTE aggregated to ~0.25 FTE).
Entomology Specialist	0.2	[#5] Specialist support (0.1–0.25 FTE) for taxonomic ID, risk assessment, and specimen triage; modeled as 0.2 FTE.

📋 Confidence Notes

Many recurring items are well‑scoped (MRI scanning, technician FTEs, consumables), but uncertainty remains in manifestation frequency, incidence severity, and whether capital purchases (dedicated MRI/incinerator) are required — hence medium confidence.

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