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SCP-522 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-522
Expected annual
$1.5M
One-time setup
$1.1M
Annual recurring
$1.5M
Personnel
12
Estimated initial capital costs are approximately $1.10M, driven primarily by airtight containment construction, major equipment (HVAC, incinerator, robotics) and optional scale-up capital. Baseline annual operating costs are approximately $1.49M/yr, driven mainly by staff wages (research, containment, security), contingency/reserves, and ongoing biosecurity/monitoring.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $1.1M
Experimental Scaleup Capital $400K
[#24] Optional capital to establish an experimental breeding/scale-up suite if approved (~$200k–$600k; midpoint ~$400,000).
Equipment $332K
[#2, #3, #4, #5, #8, #9, #20, #25] HVAC installation (~$90,000), autoclave (~$22,500), on-site incinerator capital (~$85,000), initial PPE purchase (~$18,500), CCTV install (~$11,500), remote handling system (~$55,000), secure server (~$10,000), and transport vehicle/containers (~$40,000).
Facilities $265K
[#1, #3] Airtight containment room retrofit (~$200,000) plus decontamination anteroom construction (~$65,000). Includes seals, viewing ports and anteroom structural work.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $85K
[#16] Laboratory buildout and specialized mycological/genomic equipment (microscopes, incubators, PCR, biosafety cabinet) estimated at ~$85,000.
Initial Training $18K
[#15] Initial SOP development and training (~$10k–$25k; midpoint ~$17,500).
Initial Fumigation $3K
[#17] Initial full-room sterilization/fumigation (~$3,000) after setup or first incident.
Annual Estimate Reference $0
[#30] Placeholder/reference to analyst annual summary; not an additional capital cost.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.5M/yr
Staff Wages $672K/yr
[#12, #13, #14] Biomedical research staffing (1.5 FTE ~ $157,500), containment technicians/supervisor (~$260,000), and security staffing (6 guards ~$255,000) combined.
Administrative Overhead $299K/yr
[#29] Administrative overhead (HR, procurement, facility management) calculated at ~25% of direct recurring costs.
Contingency Reserve $200K/yr
[#28] Contingency fund for unexpected breaches, emergency mobilization and rapid upgrades (~$100k–$300k; midpoint ~$200k).
Medical Emergency Reserve $100K/yr
[#18] Reserve for medical response, hospitalization and incident treatment (~maintain ~$100k/yr as contingency).
Cover Story And Legal $62K/yr
[#19] Legal counsel, cover operations and local authority coordination (~$25k–$100k; midpoint ~$62.5k/yr).
Research And Monitoring $42K/yr
[#7, #16, #27] Routine environmental monitoring, PCR/sequencing, culture attempts (~$15k/yr) plus lab consumables/maintenance (~$20k/yr) and small-animal/necropsy supplies (~$6.5k/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $12K/yr
[#1, #3] Ongoing structural/containment maintenance for airtight seals, viewing ports, anteroom upkeep.
Supplies And Consumables $10K/yr
[#6] Disinfectants, sporicidal agents, wipes, disposable PPE and other consumables (~$5k–$15k; midpoint ~$10k/yr).
Incinerator Operation $10K/yr
[#4] On-site incinerator fuel and maintenance (~$10k/yr) if capital option chosen; alternative would be per-carcass contract disposal (handled in notes).
Veterinary Services $10K/yr
[#11] Veterinary oversight, anesthesia/euthanasia and per-placement veterinary costs (~$5k–$15k/yr; midpoint ~$10k).
Training Annual $10K/yr
[#15] Annual refresher training, drills and background checks (~$5k–$15k/yr; midpoint ~$10k).
Data Management Recurring $10K/yr
[#20] Secure data storage, logging systems, and IT maintenance (~$5k–$15k/yr; midpoint ~$10k).
Animal Procurement $8K/yr
[#10] Purchase of one pig every two weeks (26/yr) at ~$275 each (~$7,150) plus transport/handling ~$1,000 => ~$8,150/yr.
Hvac Operation $8K/yr
[#2] Energy and routine maintenance for dedicated negative-pressure HVAC and HEPA filtration (~$5k–$10k/yr; midpoint ~$8k).
Energy Misc $7K/yr
[#26] Additional electricity for continuous controls, lighting and monitoring (~$5k–$12k/yr; midpoint ~$7k).
Logistics And Transport $6K/yr
[#25] Remote transport fuel/maintenance and secure transfer logistics (~$3k–$10k/yr; midpoint ~$6.5k).
Audits $6K/yr
[#22] Periodic external audits and environmental compliance checks (~$3k–$10k/yr; midpoint ~$6.5k).
Biowaste Laundering $6K/yr
[#21] Contract laundering or disposal/replacement of contaminated PPE (~$3k–$8k/yr; midpoint ~$5.5k).
Ppe Replacement $5K/yr
[#5] Replacement and consumable PPE (~$5k/yr).
Replacement Carpet Fund $5K/yr
[#23] Fund for potential carpet replacement/sterilization events (~$2k–$8k per event; budgeted ~$5k/yr).
Fumigation Annual $4K/yr
[#17] Periodic vaporized H2O2/formaldehyde fumigation budget (~$3k–$6k/yr; midpoint ~$4k).
Cctv Maintenance $2K/yr
[#8] Storage and minor maintenance for CCTV and logging systems (~$1k–$2k/yr).
Experimental Scaleup Operations $0/yr
[#24] Optional recurring operations for a breeding/scale-up program (~$150k–$400k/yr if pursued). Set to $0 in baseline; handled as a separate scenario if approved.
Small Animal Supplies $0/yr
[] Small-animal supplies covered under research_and_monitoring and veterinary_services; no separate line item.
Annual Estimate Reference $0/yr
[#30] Reference to analyst summary ranges; not an additional cost line.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.5M/yr
92.5% probability / year
Normal operational year with no major incidents; all recurring costs and routine consumables, monitoring and reserves active.
routine operations no incidents
🚨 Minor Incident $1.5M/yr
5.0% probability / year +$40K vs baseline
Localized containment event requiring emergency fumigation, replacement of carpet, external audit and staff overtime.
localized spore spread single-room contamination replacement carpet / extra fumigation
🚨 Major Breach $2.0M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Significant containment breach with staff exposures, large-scale remediation, medical treatment and legal/cover operations.
multiple personnel exposure facility remediation public exposure risk
🚨 Research Scaleup $2.2M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$675K vs baseline
Foundation approves optional breeding/scale-up program, incurring capital for a dedicated suite and expanded recurring operations.
approval for breeding/scale-up dedicated suite construction and expanded ops
👥 Personnel 12 total
Role Count Notes
Research Scientist 2 1.5 FTE worth of mycologists/biologists budgeted (represented as 2 staff with one part-time). Maps to [#12].
Technician 3 Containment technicians handling feedings, decon and maintenance. Part of containment ops budget. Maps to [#13].
Containment Supervisor / Lead 1 Oversight of protocols and compliance; included in containment ops staffing. Maps to [#13].
Security Officer / MTF Agent 6 Six guards for 24/7 coverage (3 shifts). Maps to [#14].
📋 Confidence Notes
Estimates are order-of-magnitude based on analyst ranges and standard contractor/labor rates; many items (biohazard remediation, frequency of replacement events, optional scale-up) are uncertain, so confidence is medium.
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