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SCP-380 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-380
Expected annual
$275K
One-time setup
$377K
Annual recurring
$267K
Personnel
1.6
Initial one-time setup is moderate (~$377k) driven by lab fit-out, custom software, and research startup; recurring annual costs are ~ $267k driven by staff wages, ongoing R&D/audits, legal/insurance, and facilities maintenance.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $377K
Initial Research And Lab Setup $215K
[#7, #13, #15, #16, #22, #25] Custom logging/interface software development, initial IRB/protocol prep for testing, human-subject recruitment/study startup costs, diagnostic cross-validation equipment, SOP development and initial training, and a small pilot research program budget.
Facilities $100K
[#1] Secure-room fit-out (controlled HVAC tweaks, swipe access, classified storage, minor construction/lock upgrades). Estimate chosen near lower-mid of provided range.
Equipment $37K
[#2, #3, #4, #6, #9, #18, #21, #23, #24, #5] Air-gapped workstation hardware and OS hardening, locking storage box and tamper seals, spare computer, data-diode/USB control hardware, CCTV install, initial offline storage drives, forensic imaging hardware, UPS hardware, spare-device contingency, and secure transport case. Values are mid-range picks from note ranges.
Legal Coverup One Time $25K
[#19] Initial legal/PR retainer or contingency fund for cover-up/legal posture (one-time component).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $267K/yr
Staff Wages $100K/yr
[#10, #11, #12] Research technician(s) (primary coverage), fractional site-security allocation, and medical on-call/retainer. Combined salary+benefits estimated from ranges in notes.
Research And Monitoring $74K/yr
[#6, #8, #13, #14, #16, #21, #22, #25] Regular IT security audits/air-gap verification, port-control audits, ongoing IRB/compliance costs, intermittent animal housing/husbandry campaigns, diagnostic consumables overhead, incident response training/refresh, refresher staff training, and ongoing R&D/validation if pursuing further research.
Cover Story And Legal $30K/yr
[#19] Ongoing legal counsel / PR contingency retainer and rapid-response legal costs to manage exposure or privacy incidents.
Facilities Maintenance $20K/yr
[#1, #23] Recurring utilities and maintenance for the secure room and small annualized UPS battery replacement and minor facility upkeep.
Insurance And Liability $20K/yr
[#20] Annual insurance/liability reserve costs to cover adverse health events, privacy lawsuits, or institutional indemnity (annualized estimate).
Administrative Overhead $10K/yr
[#26] Administrative support, classified-document handling, record-keeping, and audit paperwork overhead.
Supplies And Consumables $8K/yr
[#3, #9, #16, #17, #18] Annual consumables including tamper-audit supplies, CCTV monitoring/storage operational costs, diagnostic consumables (glucometer strips/etc.), PPE/disposables, and storage media rotation.
Logistics And Transport $4K/yr
[#5] Per-move staffed secure transport costs (estimated frequency ~6 moves/yr at a mid-range per-move cost). Includes handling and escort labor—GPS-free courier protocols assumed.
It Support And Patch $2K/yr
[#2, #6] Ongoing patching/replacement cycle and low-level IT support for the air-gapped workstation and isolation hardware (annualized).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $267K/yr
92.5% probability / year
Normal year with routine maintenance, audits, occasional small experiments, and no major incidents.
routine_operations scheduled_audits minor_transports
🚨 Minor Incident $282K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$15K vs baseline
Small unauthorized access attempt or minor failure requiring forensic analysis and short-term remediation.
unauthorized_access_attempt localized_data_corruption failed_procedure
🚨 Major Breach $467K/yr
0.5% probability / year +$200K vs baseline
Significant breach or public exposure leading to legal action, major forensic response, compensation, and containment overhaul.
public_exposure large_data_leak harmful_medical_event
🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $567K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$300K vs baseline
Decision to pursue clinical development or scale R&D leading to substantial additional annual investment.
positive_pilot_results institutional_decision_to_develop external_partnerships
👥 Personnel 1.6 total
Role Count Notes
Research Technician 1.0 Primary technician (0.75–1.0 FTE typical); responsible for device maintenance, logs, and testing. Salary portion estimated at ~$60,000/yr.
Security Officer / MTF Agent 0.5 Fractional allocation of site security (proportional share), covers access control and escorts. Salary share estimated at ~$25,000/yr.
Medical Officer 0.1 On-call physician/nurse retainer (not full-time); covers live-subject tests and emergency response. Annual cost estimated at ~$15,000/yr.
📋 Confidence Notes
Notes provide good coverage of likely cost categories, but many line items are ranges and several frequency assumptions (moves per year, scale-up likelihood) are required; estimates are mid-range and therefore medium confidence.
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