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SCP-5229 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-5229
Expected annual
$362K
One-time setup
$106K
Annual recurring
$357K
Personnel
6.2
First-year (one-time + recurring) containment and setup costs are modest-to-moderate (~$462,000) driven primarily by secure staffing, contingency/overhead, and initial room/tank installation; ongoing annual costs are dominated by security wages and institutional overhead (~$357,000/yr).
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $106K
Facilities $55K
[#1, #2] Containment chamber installation and modest reinforcement (#1) and secure containment room refurbishment (doors, drainage, anti-tamper, lightproofing) (#2).
Equipment $30K
[#3, #6, #7, #8, #13, #14, #15, #19] Filtration/circulation hardware (#3), environmental monitoring hardware (#6), backup power/UPS (#7), emergency/secondary water reservoir (#8), initial PPE/tools (#13), custom wet-transport container (#14), documentation/IT setup (#15), and initial long-term sample archive setup (#19).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $20K
[#11] Initial characterization (CT/imaging, histology, DNA sequencing, materials analysis, carbon dating, specialist consultation).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $357K/yr
Staff Wages $232K/yr
[#9, #10] Dedicated security staffing for 24/7 coverage (#9) and fractional on-site technical/maintenance labor for bi-weekly care (#10).
Institutional Overhead And Contingency $82K/yr
[#18] Administrative overhead and contingency reserve (~30% of direct recurring costs per analyst note).
Research And Monitoring $27K/yr
[#12, #15, #19] Ongoing research program and specialist time/bench supplies (#12), records/data storage & admin costs (#15), and secure archival sample storage maintenance (#19).
Cover Story And Legal $5K/yr
[#16] Legal/cover-story/PR and FOIA response budget.
Emergency Drills $4K/yr
[#20] Containment-failure response planning, periodic drills, and spare-parts inventory rotations (pumps, seals).
Supplies And Consumables $3K/yr
[#4, #5, #13, #17] Chlorine tablets and test strips/consumables (#4), makeup water and occasional in-house testing supplies (#5), PPE replacement/consumables (#13), and hazardous waste disposal manifests/fees (#17).
Equipment Maintenance $2K/yr
[#3, #6, #7, #8] Maintenance and replacement parts for filtration/pumps (#3), monitoring subscriptions/maintenance (#6), UPS/generator testing (#7), and reservoir inspections/valve maintenance (#8).
Facilities Maintenance $2K/yr
[#2, #7] Recurring upkeep of the containment room (sump/drain cleaning, minor repairs) (#2) and basic UPS/generator maintenance allocated here (#7).
Logistics And Transport $1K/yr
[#14] Amortized per-year cost for occasional secure transfers (per-transfer costs averaged over time).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $357K/yr
92.5% probability / year
Normal, uneventful year with routine maintenance, bi-weekly chlorination, ongoing research, and no containment incidents.
routine_maintenance scheduled_research no_incidents
🚨 Minor Incident $372K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$14K vs baseline
Small leak, pump failure, or accelerated evaporation requiring emergency top-up/repair and overtime staff response but no breach of facility security.
pump_failure minor_leak accelerated_evaporation
🚨 Transport Incident $432K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$74K vs baseline
Incident during transfer (sealed crate breach or failure to keep submerged) requiring recovery operation, medical/legal costs, and additional secure transport.
secure_transfer container_failure exposure_during_move
🚨 Major Breach $757K/yr
0.5% probability / year +$400K vs baseline
Containment failure with active exposure (e.g., specimen dries and animates), requiring large-scale recovery, medical response, investigation, and possible replacement of containment infrastructure.
prolonged_power_loss multiple_system_failures human_error_during_handing
👥 Personnel 6.2 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 6 [#9] Assumes a 3-shift model (6 dedicated guards) to cover 24/7 security; loaded costs included in staff_wages.
Engineer / Maintenance 0.2 [#10] Fractional FTE technical/maintenance support for bi-weekly care and equipment upkeep (pro-rata of a full technician).
📋 Confidence Notes
Line-item ranges are documented and equipment/consumable needs are straightforward, but uncertainty remains in staffing choices, institutional overhead percentage, and low-probability incident costs, so confidence is medium.
← SCP-5228 ↑ All SCPs SCP-5230 →