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SCP-5432 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-5432
Expected annual
$306K
One-time setup
$137K
Annual recurring
$294K
Personnel
3
Initial one-time setup is modest (~$137k) for secure cold storage, sensors, and targeted analyses; main recurring drivers are staff wages, administrative overhead, and regular monitoring (~$293.5k/yr). Major cost risk is specialized ontological instrumentation or emergency response.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $137K
Equipment $68K
[#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #21] Purpose-built locker, ultracold freezer and installation, UPS/generator hardware, environmental/tamper sensors, CCTV and access hardware, secure server provisioning.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $55K
[#10, #11, #12, #17] Initial comprehensive pathogen panel, contracted ontological/deep analysis, mass spec instrumentation decisions (contract preferred here; capital purchase not assumed), and initial specialized training/setup.
Legal And Ethics Review $6K
[#14] Initial legal/ethical review, IRB and policy drafting related to human‑remains status.
Disposal Decommissioning $5K
[#20] Cost estimate for secure disposal or decommissioning (standard hazardous/human‑remains style cremation or incineration).
Initial Documentation $3K
[#13] Initial archival documentation, secure database entry and digital backups.
Facilities $0
[]
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $294K/yr
Staff Wages $160K/yr
[#6, #7, #8] One full midlevel technician (~$75k), fractional PI oversight (~$25k), and minimal security coverage (~$60k).
Administrative Overhead $40K/yr
[#22] Pro rata facility overhead (estimated ~25% of direct salaries/ops).
Research And Monitoring $22K/yr
[#4, #10, #11, #12, #13, #24] Continuous environmental logging, routine pathogen panels, follow‑up ontological measurements, per‑sample mass spec contracts, ongoing archival storage costs, and instrument calibration contracts.
Outreach Contingency $20K/yr
[#23] Discreet acquisition/compensation/legal retainer fund in case of external discovery.
Incident Response Fund $15K/yr
[#18] Emergency retrieval, decontamination, overtime and contractor reserve.
Cover Story And Legal $14K/yr
[#15, #14] Ongoing cover story/misinformation budget and periodic legal/ethical review monitoring.
It Security And Soc $6K/yr
[#5, #21] Ongoing storage/retention costs for CCTV/access logs and SOC/IT maintenance for anomalous measurement data.
Specialized Training $5K/yr
[#17] Annual biosafety/ontological safety refreshers and specialist recertification.
Supplies And Consumables $5K/yr
[#9, #16, #19] PPE, sealed containers/cryovials/tamper seals, preservation materials and routine consumables.
Facilities Maintenance $3K/yr
[#3] Generator/fuel/UPS testing and general maintenance for freezer redundancy.
Psychological Support $3K/yr
[#25] Counseling and confidentiality management for assigned personnel.
Logistics And Transport $1K/yr
[#16] Secure courier packaging and occasional sample transfer costs.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $294K/yr
92.5% probability / year
Normal year with routine monitoring, staffing, and scheduled maintenance; no incident or major instrumentation purchases.
no incidents routine sampling only
🚨 Minor Incident $324K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$30K vs baseline
Localized incident or unexpected degradation requiring emergency retrieval, extra testing, and overtime.
sample degradation power interruption requiring emergency response
🚨 Major Breach $594K/yr
0.5% probability / year +$300K vs baseline
Containment compromise or events requiring extensive decontamination, contractor mobilization, legal action, and possible temporary relocation of assets.
containment breach significant public exposure
🚨 Research Scale Up $794K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Decision to pursue enhanced scientific program including purchase/development of specialized ontological instrumentation or in‑house mass spectrometry.
research priority escalation funding approved for capital instruments
👥 Personnel 3 total
Role Count Notes
Research Technician / Custodian 1 [#6] Daily/weekly inspections, condition logging, sample handling; salary estimated as one midlevel technician.
Research Scientist (PI oversight) 1 [#7] Fractional FTE senior researcher responsible for oversight, authorization of sampling and containment decisions (0.1–0.25 FTE represented as one part‑time position).
Security Officer / MTF Agent 1 [#8] Rotational guard coverage for area checks and escorted removals (budgeted as ~1 full‑time equivalent through roster rotation).
📋 Confidence Notes
Many line items are well understood (storage, staffing, PPE), but substantial uncertainty exists around ontological instrumentation, potential decommissioning costs, and the frequency of anomalous events; estimates are mid‑range selections from analyst ranges.
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