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SCP-3898 Unknown ~ medium confidence
SCP-3898
Expected annual
$3.6M
One-time setup
$5.9M
Annual recurring
$3.4M
Personnel
25
Estimated one-time containment and setup costs are approximately $5,860,000 driven primarily by vault construction, structural hardening, specialized robotics and laboratory buildout; expected recurring operating costs are approximately $3,402,000/yr driven by staff wages, maintenance/service contracts, medical/psych care, and legal/cover operations.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $5.9M
Facilities $3.3M
[#1, #8] Vault construction (15×15×15 min) including reinforced concrete, blast-rated slab, tie-down points and structural/floor hardening to survive ~400 kN impacts. Estimate chosen mid-range between retrofit and new-build with additional structural reinforcement.
Equipment $1.1M
[#2, #3, #4, #20, #22] Remote-operated restraining/pacification apparatus, automated cleaning/waste-removal system, high-security control room/surveillance hardware, initial redundant data-backup hardware, and specialized measurement instrumentation (force sensors, high-speed cameras, samplers).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $640K
[#9, #10, #29] Onsite environmental/materials testing equipment (ICP-MS, mass spec, sequencing), autopsy/pathology suite startup (if onsite), and archival freezer/sample vault initial capital.
Contingency Reserve $500K
[#25] One-time contingency/insurance/liability reserve set aside for severe incidents, legal settlements, whistleblower payouts or sudden relocations.
Hvac And Environmental Control $110K
[#6] HVAC and environmental control install with HEPA/activated carbon filtration, negative-pressure capability, humidity and corrosion control systems (capital portion).
Power Backup And Ups $90K
[#5] Redundant UPS/backup generator purchase and installation sized for HVAC, robotics and surveillance; includes ATS and 24–72 hr fuel-handling infrastructure (capital portion).
On Site Stockpile $80K
[#28] Initial stockpile of spare manipulators, seals, replacement polarized glass, hand tools and critical spare parts to avoid risky personnel entry.
Initial Recovery Transport $60K
[#7] Heavy-lifting and transport costs for initial recovery (crane rental, secure convoy, specialized crates) estimated mid-range per initial operation.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.4M/yr
Staff Wages $1.8M/yr
[#13, #14, #15] Salaries and benefits for security team, research/containment staff, robotic operators, containment supervisor, and medical staff (includes hazard pay/on-call).
Facilities Maintenance $200K/yr
[#5, #6, #24] Preventative and corrective maintenance contracts, HVAC filter replacements, quarterly generator/load testing and structural/robotic inspections (5–15% of capital assumption).
Cover Story And Legal $200K/yr
[#21] Legal teams, PR/cover-story operations, fake manifests, payments to maintain deniability and cover costs.
D Class Procurement And Handling $200K/yr
[#16] Administrative, housing, transport, covert payments and legal logistics associated with controlled human subjects procurement and handling.
Research And Monitoring $140K/yr
[#9, #22] Consumables and service contracts for environmental/materials testing (sequencing, ICP-MS, mass spec) and calibration/consumables for specialized measurement instrumentation.
Amnestics And Memory Countermeasures $100K/yr
[#17] Ongoing administration and medical monitoring for amnestic courses and memory-countermeasure supplies; budget for routine use and occasional experimental agents.
Long Term Psych Care $100K/yr
[#27] Long-term psychiatric care, disability compensation reserves and ongoing therapy for exposed staff; per-case contingencies exist above baseline.
Contingency Replenishment $100K/yr
[#25] Annual budgeted replenishment to restore contingency/insurance reserve after draws for incidents.
Forensic Autopsy Services $75K/yr
[#10] Per-autopsy contracts or on-site pathology operating budget and disposal/incineration costs when performed regularly.
Incident Investigation Baseline $75K/yr
[#19] Baseline budget for post-incident reviews, CCTV forensics, external consultants and legal/admin overhead (higher per-incident costs budgeted separately).
Outreach And Interagency Coordination $75K/yr
[#30] Budget for coerced/coordinated governmental agency interactions, external responder training under cover story and international coordination if required.
Supplies And Consumables $60K/yr
[#23] Ongoing consumables: medications, sterilants, filters, IV supplies, lab reagents and replacement parts for cleaning systems.
Training And Drills $50K/yr
[#18] Quarterly drills, live actor exercises, emergency-response and media-leak exercises with contractors.
Incineration And Waste Permits $40K/yr
[#11] Incineration/disposal events, ash disposal and environmental permit fees and monitoring.
Redundant Data And Cybersecurity $40K/yr
[#20] Ongoing cybersecurity, audits, air-gapped backups and encryption maintenance to prevent tampering or leaks.
Medical Incident Contingency $25K/yr
[#15] Per-incident acute care contingency (ER transfers, inpatient treatment) averaged as a small annual reserve.
On Site Stockpile Replenishment $20K/yr
[#28] Annual replenishment of spare manipulators, seals, filters and polarized glass spares.
Logistics And Transport $15K/yr
[#7, #26] Regular sample transport, cold-chain shipments and occasional secure logistics; relocation transport per-operation budget is tracked separately and not budgeted annually in baseline.
Hvac Operation And Filters $15K/yr
[#6] Operational costs for HVAC, replacement HEPA/activated-carbon filters and corrosion-control consumables.
Surveillance Storage And Datastore $15K/yr
[#4, #20] Ongoing secure storage, off-site replication and tamper-evident retention for CCTV/audio logs and sensor data.
Ppe And Decon Replacement $15K/yr
[#12] Replacement PPE, SCBA consumables, decontamination chemicals and periodic replacement/training for hazmat gear.
Power Fuel And Maintenance $12K/yr
[#5] Fuel contracts, generator maintenance and periodic load tests (recurring operational fuel/maintenance costs).
Sample Archiving Maintenance $10K/yr
[#29] Freezer maintenance, inventory management and periodic transfer of archived samples to long-term storage facilities.
Relocation Transport Per Operation $0/yr
[#7] Per-operation relocation cost estimated $20,000–$120,000; baseline year assumes no relocation events budgeted annually.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.4M/yr
79.0% probability / year
Normal year with routine operations and no major incidents.
no incidents routine maintenance regular drills
🚨 Minor Incident $3.7M/yr
15.0% probability / year +$250K vs baseline
Single serious medical/death event or containment-related vanishing requiring investigation, autopsy, cleanup and legal response.
single test death localized contamination one autopsy + investigation
🚨 Major Incident $4.9M/yr
5.0% probability / year +$1.5M vs baseline
Multiple fatalities, widespread contamination of containment chamber, expensive equipment replacement and extended legal exposure.
multiple-contact fatalities large-scale contamination lengthy investigation and legal actions
🚨 Catastrophic Breach $8.4M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$5.0M vs baseline
Public exposure or catastrophic breach requiring relocation, heavy legal settlement, large-scale PR/cover operations and major asset replacement.
public leak/whistleblower major containment failure forced relocation
👥 Personnel 25 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 14 24/7 multi-shift armed guards and rapid response team; aligns with note #13 staffing guidance (12–18 FTE).
Research Scientist 3 Full-time research/technician staff for experiments, sample handling and analysis per note #14.
PI / Lead Researcher 1 Program lead overseeing testing and containment protocols (note #14).
Robotic Engineer / Operator 2 Operators and engineers for remote manipulators and automation (note #2, #14).
Containment Manager / Supervisor 1 Oversees daily containment operations and compliance (note #14).
Medical Officer / Medic 1 On-call medic for immediate response to exposures (note #15).
Psychiatrist / Psychologist 1 Ongoing psychiatric monitoring and therapy for exposed staff (notes #15, #27).
Engineer / Maintenance 1 Maintenance and service coordination for HVAC, robotics and structural systems (notes #6, #24).
Administrative Staff 1 Administrative, legal coordination and D-class handling logistics (notes #16, #21).
📋 Confidence Notes
Line items are detailed with ranges so capital and operational drivers are well-identified, but significant uncertainty remains in incident frequency, severity and site-specific construction costs (retrofit vs new-build) leading to medium confidence.
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