SCP-549 — SCP-549 | Cost Breakdown

Read on SCP Wiki ↗

SCP-549 Euclid ~ medium confidence

SCP-549

Expected annual

$3.1M

One-time setup

$1.0M

Annual recurring

$3.0M

Personnel

Estimated one-time capital of approximately $1.01M for custom enclosure, room fit-out, research setup and specialized equipment; recurring annual costs ~ $3.04M driven primarily by specialized processed feed and staffing/security/operational overhead.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $1.0M

Initial Research And Lab Setup $400K

[#19] Research equipment and lab buildout (high-precision balances, interferometry, imaging and experimental apparatus for investigating anomalous mass/space-time behavior).

Equipment $346K

[#1, #2, #6, #7, #9, #12, #13, #14, #15, #20, #23] Terrarium shell fabrication, terrarium interior build, HVAC/climate & lighting equipment, stream system hardware, refrigerated storage unit, security/CCTV installation, emergency response PPE and heavy restraints, initial tranquilization kit, backup generator/UPS, initial data-handling system, spare parts inventory.

Facilities $225K

[#4, #5] Containment room construction and support platform engineering/installation (15m×15m room, reinforced floor/access control; platform sized for 2 metric tons).

Legal And Cover Setup $30K

[#21] One-time legal/cover establishment costs (NDAs, redaction infrastructure, initial liaison/setup).

Orientation And Training Production $6K

[#18] One-time production of orientation/training materials (including secure hosting/Incident 549-72 footage viewing).

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.0M/yr

Specialized Feed $1.2M/yr

[#8] Processed high-calorie salmon fillet supply (proprietary, premium contract) chosen at the higher plausible range due to [REDACTED] processing and refrigerated delivery chain.

Staff Wages $900K/yr

[#10, #11] Salaries and benefits for lead researcher, handlers, security rotation, lab techs, vet on-call and associated payroll (daily inspection time included in staffing estimates).

Logistics And Transport $200K/yr

[#22] Refrigerated courier / daily delivery costs for specialized processed feed (off-site supplier scenario).

Contingency Reserve $200K/yr

[#25] Reserve fund for unplanned major repairs, legal crises, or emergency escalation.

Research And Monitoring $150K/yr

[#19] Ongoing research operating budget, experiments, consumables and staff time for anomalous investigations.

Cover Story And Legal $100K/yr

[#21] Ongoing legal, compliance, PR and cover-story retainer costs.

Medical Reserve $100K/yr

[#17] Medical/emergency care and workers' compensation reserve for personnel injuries from maulings or incidents.

Insurance Overhead $75K/yr

[#26] Insurance and institutional overhead, utilities and facility administrative charges.

Supplies And Consumables $36K/yr

[#7, #13, #14, #23] Stream spring-water and filter consumables, emergency PPE consumables/replacements, tranquilization drug replacements, spare-part replenishment after incidents.

Periodic Refurbishment Annualized $25K/yr

[#24] Annualized budget for full refurbishment/lifecycle replacement of terrarium components (every 3–7 years).

Fabrication Contract $15K/yr

[#3] Annual contract for terrarium interior repairs and fabrication of replacement panels/parts; emergency repair incidents budgeted separately in contingency/emergency fund.

Facilities Maintenance $10K/yr

[#6] HVAC/climate control electricity and basic facilities upkeep (HVAC operation estimate).

Public Safety Drills $10K/yr

[#27] Periodic coordination exercises with local authorities and confidential drill costs.

Waste Management $6K/yr

[#16] Biohazard disposal and organic waste contract for daily fish carcasses and bedding.

Security Storage And Monitoring $5K/yr

[#12] Recurring storage/IT/monitoring costs for CCTV redundancy and tamper-proof archival access.

Backup Power Operation $4K/yr

[#15] Fuel and maintenance for backup generator and UPS systems.

Data And Archival Storage $3K/yr

[#20] Recurring off-site replication and secure archival storage costs for footage and experimental data.

Refrigeration Operation $2K/yr

[#9] Electricity and maintenance for walk-in cooler used for feed storage.

Training And Orientation Refreshers $2K/yr

[#18] Recurrent training refreshers, psychological screening and secure re-hosting of orientation content.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.0M/yr

83.0% probability / year

Normal operational year with no major incidents; regular maintenance, feed deliveries and research continue as planned.

routine_operations scheduled_maintenance regular_research_activity

🚨 Minor Incident $3.1M/yr

10.0% probability / year +$30K vs baseline

Small-scale stress incident requiring emergency panel repair, minor interior repairs and short-term overtime/contracted repairs.

localized_panel_damage emergency_repair_contract overtime_for_handlers

🚨 Major Breach $3.6M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$600K vs baseline

Significant containment breach or major terrarium failure requiring full panel replacement, extended repairs, legal/medical costs and possible temporary relocation.

large_panel_failure serious_injury extensive_refurbishment

🚨 Research Scaleup $3.5M/yr

5.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline

Accelerated research program or experimental campaign requiring additional specialized equipment, temporary staffing and increased operational tempo.

large_experimental_campaign additional_staff_hires equipment_procurement

👥 Personnel 13 total

Role	Count	Notes
Research Scientist	1	Lead researcher overseeing SCP-549 experiments and containment protocol.
Veterinarian (part-time/on-call)	1	Part-time/on-call veterinarian for medical emergencies and sedation procedures.
Handler	3	Dedicated handlers responsible for feeding, inspections and routine care (covers twice-daily checks).
Security Officer / MTF Agent	6	24/7 security coverage for the containment room and access control.
Lab Technician	1	Technical support for experiments, equipment maintenance and data collection.
Site Director / Administrative Staff	1	Administrative oversight, liaison, and coordination of cover/legal activities.

📋 Confidence Notes

Notes provide detailed line items and ranges but many costs (proprietary feed processing, bespoke enclosure treatments, incident frequency and regional labor rates) are uncertain; mid-range estimates chosen where ranges were wide.

← SCP-548 ↑ All SCPs SCP-550 →