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SCP-588 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-588
Expected annual
$125K
One-time setup
$273K
Annual recurring
$120K
Personnel
4
One-time setup costs are dominated by furnace access/purchase, analytical work, and containment/equipment; annual operating costs (staff, monitoring, disposals, supplies) are modest. Expected steady-state recurring spend is ~ $120k/yr with one-time capital ~ $273k.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $273K
Equipment $102K
[#2, #4, #8, #10, #17] Contains custom polycarbonate containment box + restraints (#2), camera/sensor hardware (#4), furnace purchase if owned/installed (#8), hardened transport case (#10), and modest redundant containment upgrade seed (#17).
Insurance Reserve Seed $50K
[#23] Seed reserve for liability/indemnity contingencies (initial capital reserve).
Mass Extermination Contingency Seed $50K
[#24] One-time contingency fund / capital placeholder in case large-scale melt/extermination infrastructure must be procured immediately.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $34K
[#7, #11, #15] Initial analytical campaign (proteomics/SEM/GC-MS etc.) and setup: intensive initial testing (#7), inventory/database setup (#11), and SOP writing/initial documentation (#15).
Legal Retainer Seed $20K
[#21] One-time retainer/seed fund for legal/PR contingency (initial set-aside).
Facilities $10K
[#1] One-time fit-out / locker allocation cost (shelving, mounting points, intrusion detection fit-out).
Incident Response Kit $6K
[#16] Portable containment/neutralization kit build for rapid response (one-time kit purchase).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $120K/yr
Staff Wages $67K/yr
[#5, #6, #16] Recurring personnel costs: part-time/dedicated guard allocation during handling and on-call (~security), 0.5 FTE technician plus partial researcher oversight, and readiness staffing/on-call for incident responses.
Facilities Maintenance $20K/yr
[#1, #18] Ongoing site allocation/overhead for storage locker and small HVAC/power increment for monitoring and any climate control.
Research And Monitoring $12K/yr
[#4, #7, #11, #20, #22, #26] Ongoing camera/storage monitoring costs, periodic follow-up analytical testing, IT/database maintenance, record archival, outsourced expert consultations, and periodic risk/review audits.
Logistics And Transport $5K/yr
[#9, #10, #13] Recurring costs for furnace operation or outsourced disposal runs, secure transport trips (driver/fuel), and hazardous waste pickups/disposal.
Mass Extermination Fund Replenishment $5K/yr
[#24] Recurring replenishment to a contingency fund for potential large-scale melt/extermination operations (maintain readiness).
Supplies And Consumables $4K/yr
[#3, #12, #19, #27] PPE replacement (padded gloves, nitrile, coveralls), decontamination supplies, labeling/consumables and small miscellaneous contingency.
Medical Surveillance $3K/yr
[#14] Occupational health baseline screening, post-exposure care budget and surveillance pool.
Cover Story And Legal $2K/yr
[#21, #23, #25] Annual replenishment for legal/cover contingency, modest insurance/indemnity replenishment, and small replacement/forgery budget for civilian cover items.
Training And Drills $2K/yr
[#15] Annual refresher training and periodic drills for handling and incident response.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $120K/yr
77.9% probability / year
Normal year with routine monitoring, occasional handling events, and no major containment incidents.
routine_handling periodic_testing no_breaches
🚨 Minor Incident $125K/yr
20.0% probability / year +$5K vs baseline
Small reproduction/disposal events requiring extra disposals, overtime, and limited consulting (e.g., a few offspring escape and are recovered).
limited_reproduction extra_disposal_runs
🚨 Major Breach $270K/yr
2.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline
Significant containment breach with a colony requiring large retrieval effort, medical treatment for exposed personnel, and PR/legal response (analogous to Incident 588-B).
breach_escape large_colony_retrieval medical_and_legal_response
🚨 Mass Reproduction $1.1M/yr
0.1% probability / year +$1.0M vs baseline
Catastrophic uncontrolled reproduction requiring industrial smelting, heavy logistics, environmental permitting, and major cover-up/compensation operations.
exponential_fission off-site_mass_melt public_exposure
👥 Personnel 4 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 1 [#5] Dedicated/part-time guard allocation for handling events and on-call supervision.
Research Scientist 1 [#6] PI oversight (0.1-0.2 FTE equivalent allocated to SCP-588 work).
Laboratory Technician 1 [#6] 0.5 FTE technician for routine checks and testing.
Emergency Response / Incident Responder 1 [#16] On-call responder for containment breaches and incident kit deployment.
📋 Confidence Notes
Containment and operational needs are well-described in the notes/article, allowing moderate confidence in staffing and monitoring costs; uncertainty remains around frequency/severity of reproduction events and choice between furnace purchase vs outsourcing, which drives one-time and incident costs.
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