← SCP Cost Explorer Read on SCP Wiki ↗
SCP-8297 Unknown ? low confidence
SCP-8297
Expected annual
$3.6M
One-time setup
$5.0M
Annual recurring
$3.6M
Personnel
9
Initial startup (one-time) capital is moderate-to-high due to secure lab/facility buildout and per-site installations; ongoing annual operations are dominated by cloud connectivity, central coordination staffing, and distributed site monitoring (~$3.56M/yr baseline). Main cost drivers are number of active Way instances, lab/sampling policy, and data retention policies.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $5.0M
Facilities $2.5M
[#4, #7, #10, #16, #22, #24] Central coordination fit-out, secure lab build/retrofit (BSL-3/4), optional field-base hardening, initial decon/containment stock and other project-level capital aggregated into facility/structural work; reflects midpoint of analyst ranges and low-scale startup assumptions.
Public Exposure Reserve One Time $1.0M
[#17] One-time contingency reserve for significant public-exposure response (analyst recommended reserve $0.5–5M; conservative low-scale allocation used here).
Equipment $950K
[#1, #5, #11, #21, #24] Per-site surveillance hardware aggregated for ~20 sites (~$30k/site ≈ $600k), MTF rapid-response equipment purchase (~$300k midpoint), and one-time IT/systems hardware; aligns with per-site installation summary.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $350K
[#7, #9, #22] Instrumentation and lab setup (analytical instruments, initial consumables, specialized sensors) distinct from structural lab build; midpoint estimate to enable initial sample analysis and anomalous research.
Per Site Initial Cover Story One Time $100K
[#13] Initial one-time per-site cover/story setup (permits, cover assets) assumed ~$5k/site × ~20 sites.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.6M/yr
Research And Monitoring $1.3M/yr
[#2, #9, #12, #20, #21] Per-site connectivity/cloud storage and edge retention (~$24–48k/site/yr; aggregated), focused research program (~$200–500k/yr), periodic drone/satellite imagery, and secure archiving/audit overhead; includes scaled cloud/video retention costs.
Staff Wages $1.1M/yr
[#3, #4, #9] Central coordination salaries (project lead, analysts, IT/security, legal liaison ~4–6 FTE) plus aggregated local inspection staffing (~0.2 FTE/site averaged across ~20 sites).
Facilities Maintenance $200K/yr
[#4, #7, #16, #24] Lease/ops for central coordination node, routine facility upkeep, lab certification/operation overhead (where applicable).
Rapid Response Readiness $150K/yr
[#5] Recurring MTF readiness allocation: training, retention, fractional salaries, and routine equipment upkeep for a small dedicated strike package.
Supplies And Consumables $100K/yr
[#6, #8, #16] Expedition consumables (field shelters, batteries, containment supplies), per-event handling consumables and recurring replenishment of decon supplies.
It Operations $100K/yr
[#11] Annual IT security, backups, forensic tooling, firmware/key rotation, and storage expansion costs.
Public Exposure Reserve Maintenance $100K/yr
[#17] Annual allocation to maintain or replenish a public-exposure/PR/legal contingency reserve.
Replacement Upgrade Fund $100K/yr
[#18] Lifecycle replacement and technology refresh allocations (cameras, sensors, batteries) averaged annually.
Logistics And Transport $75K/yr
[#14] Annual travel/shipping/customs under cover for field teams and sample movement; central logistics budget for periodic deployments.
Insurance And Risk Financing $75K/yr
[#19] Internal/external insurance/captive allocations for equipment loss and civil exposure risk.
Cover Story And Legal $60K/yr
[#13, #17] Recurring liaison/permit fees and modest ongoing cover-story expenditures; larger legal/PR contingency treated separately as reserve.
Expedition Average Annual $60K/yr
[#6] Budgeted average annual expense for low-frequency full-entry expeditions (assumed ~2 expeditions/yr at ~$30k each).
Sample Storage And Disposal Annual $50K/yr
[#8] Ongoing refrigerated storage, preservation, archival, and occasional disposal handling costs averaged annually.
Personnel Training Medical Psych Support $30K/yr
[#15] Annual training, medical screens, and post-deployment psychological support for field and analysis staff.
Recordkeeping Oversight $30K/yr
[#20] Annual audits, oversight reviews, secure recordkeeping and redaction work required for long-term preservation and compliance.
Field Base Resupply $10K/yr
[#10] Recurring resupply for optional in-pocket field base (if deployed).
Decontamination Replenishment $10K/yr
[#16] Annual replenishment of decontamination consumables and replacement of expendable HAZMAT items.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.6M/yr
89.0% probability / year
Normal uneventful year with monitoring of ~20 Ways and routine operations, no major incidents or scale changes.
routine_monitoring no_breaches steady_sampling_policy
🚨 Minor Incident $4.0M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$400K vs baseline
Localized breach or public exposure requiring MTF activation, cadaver retrieval, legal/PR engagement and incident-level analysis.
localized_breach single_activation limited_public_exposure
🚨 Wide Scale 100 Ways $7.9M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$4.3M vs baseline
Program scaled up to monitor ~100 active Ways with full central ops and lab capacity increased accordingly.
policy_scale_up discovery_of_many_active_ways increased_sampling_and_research
👥 Personnel 9 total
Role Count Notes
Project Lead / Site Director 1 [#4] Central coordination leadership embedded in central ops staffing.
Analysts / Operations Staff 2 [#4, #2] Data/monitoring analysts handling aggregated feeds and anomaly triage.
IT / Security Specialist 1 [#11, #4] IT/security support for central node, encryption, backups and key management.
Legal Liaison (fractional) 1 [#4, #13] Fractional legal/municipal liaison support included in central staffing.
Local Operator / Field Agent (aggregated FTE) 4 [#3, #21] Aggregated fractional local inspection staffing (~0.2 FTE/site × ~20 sites) for monthly checks and discreet local interactions.
📋 Confidence Notes
[#25] Significant uncertainties remain: unknown total number of Ways worldwide, policy choices about sample removal vs in-situ monitoring, data retention policies, and the potential for non-linear cost increases if SCP-8297 activates or shows transmissibility; many analyst line-item ranges are broad, producing low overall confidence.
← SCP-8296 ↑ All SCPs SCP-8298 →