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SCP-4976 Unknown ~ medium confidence
SCP-4976
Expected annual
$360K
One-time setup
$259K
Annual recurring
$352K
Personnel
1.4
Initial one-time setup is moderate (~$259k) driven by archive buildout, IT, and contingency reserves; ongoing annual costs are higher (~$352k/yr) driven primarily by personnel (handler, hazard pay, admin/security) and a dedicated research program.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $259K
Incident Response Reserve $100K
[#16] Seed rapid-response contingency reserve for lost/stolen receipt, unauthorized viewing, or urgent investigation (recommended $100,000 seed).
Facilities $75K
[#6] Secure physical archive room buildout (locked, access-logged, climate control, CCTV, HVAC, shelving, fire suppression).
Medical Disability Reserve $50K
[#19] One-time reserve for paid sick leave/disability (~$50,000 reserve as recommended).
Equipment $17K
[#11, #13] Secure IT hardware/hardened workstation/server and sensors/monitoring equipment for handler residence/mail screening (IT hardware $15,000 + monitoring equipment $2,000).
Backlog Digitization $8K
[#9] One-time project to scan prior years' albums (example estimate: 40albums × $200 ≈ $8,000).
Baseline Medical Evaluation $5K
[#3] Initial neuropsych baseline, MRI/EEG and informed-consent counseling (midpoint of $3k–$7k).
Training Setup $2K
[#14] Initial setup for training and access protocols (one-time).
Legal Policy Drafting $2K
[#20] One-time legal/ethics policy drafting and retention policy setup (~$2,000).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $0
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Handler Replacement Per Event $0
[#17] Per-replacement one-time cost (background checks, clearance processing, training) estimated $3,000–$7,000 per replacement; not budgeted as recurring baseline.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $352K/yr
Research And Monitoring $160K/yr
[#15, #4] Dedicated research project budget (1–2 researchers + consumables, midpoint used ~$150,000/yr) plus ongoing medical & mental-health monitoring (~$10,000/yr).
Staff Wages $96K/yr
[#1, #2, #12] Designated handler salary & benefits (~$70,000/yr), hazard/retainer pay (~$10,000/yr), and chain-of-custody clerical/admin support (0.1–0.2 FTE ≈ $11,000/yr) aggregated here.
Incident Response Replenishment $25K/yr
[#16] Annual replenishment for incident response reserve (recommended ~$25,000/yr).
Cover Story And Legal $20K/yr
[#20, #21] Legal retainer/ethics review (~$10,000/yr) plus minimal PR/cover-up budget (~$10,000/yr) combined.
Operational Backfill $10K/yr
[#18] Ongoing cost to reassign/backfill duties if handler is removed (overtime/temporary hires) (~$10,000/yr).
Medical Leave Reserve $10K/yr
[#19] Annual allocation for expected medical leave/disability cases (~$10,000/yr).
Research Ethics And External Consultancy $6K/yr
[#25] Occasional external expert consultancy, IRB approvals and specialized ethics reviews (~$3k–$10k/yr; midpoint used).
Security Operations $5K/yr
[#5] Security staff time/overtime for confiscation, 183-day checks, escorts and inspections (~$5,000/yr).
Insurance And Liability $5K/yr
[#22] Internal risk-pool contributions, liability overhead (~$5,000/yr).
Capital Replacement Sinking Fund $5K/yr
[#24] Long-term scheduled replacement/depreciation for HVAC, servers, access-control hardware (~$5,000/yr sinking fund).
Handler Monitoring Services $3K/yr
[#13] Ongoing mail inspection/secure delivery service and periodic residence/workspace sweeps (~$3,000/yr).
Secure It Maintenance $2K/yr
[#11] Ongoing maintenance, updates, and support for secure server/workstation and access-control software (~$2,000/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $2K/yr
[#7] Archive operating costs: electricity for climate control, HVAC/fire-suppression maintenance, alarms (~$1,500/yr).
Digital Storage And Admin $1K/yr
[#10] Ongoing scanning of new albums, encrypted storage, backups, and sysadmin oversight (~$500–$2,000/yr; midpoint used).
Supplies And Consumables $1K/yr
[#8, #23] Archival consumables & conservation (acid-free boxes, sleeves, gloves) plus courier/packaging/postage (~$350 + ~$750 ≈ $1,100/yr).
Training Refresher $1K/yr
[#14] Annual refresher training and access-protocol briefings (~$1,000/yr).
Logistics And Transport $0/yr
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Administrative Labor $0/yr
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⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $352K/yr
90.5% probability / year
Normal year with no major incidents; routine operations, research, monitoring, and scheduled maintenance only.
no incident routine operations
🚨 Minor Incident $377K/yr
7.0% probability / year +$25K vs baseline
Small-scale incident such as a lost/temporarily misplaced album or limited unauthorized viewing requiring investigation, minor medical support, and limited PR/legal actions.
lost/stolen receipt found limited unauthorized viewing small internal leak
🚨 Major Incident $502K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline
Significant containment/medical event (handler acute breakdown or sizable unauthorized dissemination) requiring extended investigation, hospitalization, replacement processing, legal action and larger PR response.
handler psychotic break or severe Stage progression substantial leak or theft major internal investigation
🚨 Catastrophic Breach $852K/yr
0.5% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Public exposure or legally complex breach causing large-scale containment, litigation, and remediation costs.
public leak/exposure litigation or large-scale privacy breach
👥 Personnel 1.4 total
Role Count Notes
Designated Handler / Junior Researcher 1 [#1, #2] One dedicated handler (Foundation-grade staff) receiving salary + hazard/retainer pay; continuous possession responsibility.
Administrative Staff 0.15 [#12] Chain-of-custody clerical support (0.1–0.2 FTE ≈ $7k–$15k/yr; midpoint accounted for in staff_wages).
Security Officer / MTF Agent (on-call overtime) 0.25 [#5] Security operations are typically small scheduled call-outs (2–4 person call-outs annually); budgeted as overtime rather than full-time staff.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed line-item estimates and reasonable midpoints, but several items have wide ranges (research scale, incident frequency/severity) and some costs (per-replacement events) are episodic rather than baseline — hence medium confidence.
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