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SCP-7976 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-7976
Expected annual
$718K
One-time setup
$352K
Annual recurring
$704K
Personnel
3.5
Initial setup is modest (capital equipment and modest enclosure work) at ~$352,500 total one-time, while annual operations are dominated by personnel, legal, security, and IT—about $704,500/year.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $352K
Equipment $205K
[#2, #3, #4, #9, #15, #16, #20] Data-diode/hardened terminal and one-way hardware ($60,000 allocated from #2), CCTV/IR monitoring ($20,000), chew-proof input devices ($5,000), secure archival lockers/offline servers hardware ($20,000), transport unit/kit ($75,000), emergency veterinary kit ($15,000), archival/redaction software initial purchase ($10,000).
Facilities $108K
[#1, #5, #2, #14] $50,000 enclosure (secure Small Mammal Enclosure) + $10,000 HVAC/microclimate + portion of Faraday/testing room shielding ($40,000 allocated from #2) + $7,500 food-prep/kitchen upgrade; structural and build work.
Personnel Vetting $25K
[#17] Initial onboarding vetting costs for ~5 staff (background checks, polygraphs, clearance initiation) estimated $25,000 one-time.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $15K
[#19] One-time baseline sequencing and initial longitudinal biological research setup ($15,000).
Program Startup Total $0
[#24] Program start-up total is a consolidation/summary of one-time capital items listed above; amount provided in notes ($300k–$350k) is reflected by the detailed line items rather than double-counted here.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $704K/yr
Staff Wages $310K/yr
[#6, #8, #18] 1.0 FTE animal technician ($70,000/yr), research staff (senior + junior combined $190,000/yr), 0.5 FTE redaction/content reviewer ($50,000/yr).
Cover Story And Legal $150K/yr
[#12] Legal/cover operations, government liaison, classified counsel and contingency retainer ($150,000/yr).
Security Detail $120K/yr
[#11] Incremental specialized on-site guard coverage, rapid-response rota, overtime and training for 2–3 dedicated guards ($120,000/yr).
It And Cybersecurity $30K/yr
[#10] IT support and cybersecurity for offline/data-diode workflows, vetted sysadmin hours and secure redaction workflows ($30,000/yr).
Contingency Misc $25K/yr
[#23] Contingency and miscellaneous fund for unexpected repairs, replacements, or small covert ops ($25,000/yr).
Research And Monitoring $20K/yr
[#19] Ongoing longitudinal biological research budget and periodic studies ($20,000/yr).
Veterinary Care $12K/yr
[#7] Regular exotic/geriatric veterinary care, diagnostics, meds and emergency care ($12,000/yr).
Training Simulations $10K/yr
[#22] Annual tabletop exercises, drills, and training for containment/custody scenarios ($10,000/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $7K/yr
[#3, #5, #21] Monitoring system maintenance ($2,500/yr), enclosure HVAC/energy/maintenance ($1,500/yr), incremental utilities ($3,000/yr).
Secure Archival Rotation $5K/yr
[#9] Offsite secure rotation and media refresh for air-gapped archives ($5,000/yr).
Personnel Vetting Renewals $5K/yr
[#17] Periodic re-investigations and renewal costs for cleared staff ($5,000/yr).
Supplies And Consumables $4K/yr
[#4, #13, #16, #14] Replacement vandal-proof peripherals ($500/yr), controlled testing supplies/food/bedding/consumables ($2,500/yr), veterinary kit restocking ($1,000/yr), food-prep supplies ($500/yr).
Logistics And Transport $3K/yr
[#15] Transport unit maintenance and readiness kit upkeep ($3,000/yr).
Software Licensing $3K/yr
[#20] Ongoing DMS/redaction tooling licensing and maintenance ($3,000/yr).
Annual Recurring Total Summary $0/yr
[#25] This line is the analyst's summary estimate ($430k–$500k); detailed recurring line items above are used for the baseline annual total rather than duplicating the summary here.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $704K/yr
95.5% probability / year
Normal year with no major incidents; routine care, monitoring, research, security, and legal operations continue as planned.
routine_operations no_medical_emergency no_external_custody_attempts
🚨 Minor Incident $744K/yr
3.0% probability / year +$40K vs baseline
Veterinary emergency or localized equipment failure requiring surgery, hospitalization, replacement equipment, and overtime.
medical_emergency in-situ_surgery equipment_replacement
🚨 Custody Challenge $954K/yr
1.0% probability / year +$250K vs baseline
External organization (GoI) attempts custody or aggressive legal/diplomatic pressure, requiring emergency relocation, covert ops, and extended legal response.
GoI_custody_request public_exposure site_security_incident
🚨 Research Breakthrough Requiring Scale Up $2.7M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline
Foundation decides to operationalize SCP-7976 outputs or significantly expand research, requiring large-scale staffing, operational, and program costs.
decision_to_operationalize major_research_scale-up expanded_logistics_and_security
👥 Personnel 3.5 total
Role Count Notes
Animal Technician (Small Mammal) 1 [#6] 1.0 FTE responsible for daily care, feeding, cleaning, handling, and recordkeeping.
Research Analyst (Senior) 1 [#8] Senior analyst (political science/diplomacy) to vet geopolitical output.
Research Assistant / Transcription (Junior) 1 [#8] Junior researcher to transcribe/format/redact outputs and assist review.
Content Reviewer / Redaction (0.5 FTE) 0.5 [#18] 0.5 FTE dedicated to redaction and pre-release review of outputs.
📋 Confidence Notes
Line-item estimates were provided in analyst notes for each numbered item, enabling a detailed build-up. Some allocations required splitting combined estimates (e.g., shielding vs. workstation in #2) and carrying forward recurring subitems that were originally classed as one-time; those allocations introduce moderate uncertainty.
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