SCP-839 — SCP-839 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-839 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-839

Expected annual

$989K

One-time setup

$400K

Annual recurring

$987K

Personnel

3.5

One-time capital and equipment costs are modest (~$400k) for a dedicated chamber and lab outfitting; annual operating costs are dominated by personnel, medical contingency and legal/scale-up reserves, totaling roughly $877k/year.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $400K

Initial Research And Lab Setup $175K

[#12] Initial intensive research program (chemical analysis, imaging, molecular work, GC–MS, histology).

Facilities $118K

[#1, #21] Containment chamber construction (PTFE-lined, airlock, observation port) and wastewater/trap/inline sterilizer installation.

Equipment $54K

[#2, #3, #4, #18, #19, #20] HVAC/environmental-control installation, security/CCTV hardware, autoclave purchase, freezer purchase, initial IT/hardware and other fixed lab devices.

Training Initial $22K

[#24] Initial training program and certification setup for medical/surgical staff.

Lims Integration $10K

[#16] LIMS integration and RFID/labeling system setup.

Consumables And Small Equipment Initial $6K

[#20] Initial microscopes, dissection tools, sterile containers, sample vials and other small equipment.

Emergency Plan Development $5K

[#14] Development/documentation of emergency response plan and SOPs specific to ingestion/burrowing behavior.

Controlled Breeding Setup $4K

[#9] Separate micro-enclosures and sterilizable mating chambers for population control.

Ppe Initial $2K

[#5] Initial stock of gloves, face shields, gowns, mouth/nose barriers and signage.

Transport Containers $2K

[#11] Purchase of biosecure animal transport boxes and chain-of-custody materials (initial stock).

Specialized Ppe Initial $2K

[#17] Signage, sensors and sealed-interface PPE initial procurement.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $987K/yr

Staff Wages $210K/yr

[#8] 2 security guards, 1 full-time lab technician/animal handler, 0.5 FTE researcher/medical specialist (salaries + benefits).

Containment Scaleup Reserve $200K/yr

[#25] Reserve fund to rapidly expand containment capacity in case of population surges or many new flavours.

Research And Monitoring $100K/yr

[#12, #26] Ongoing assays/sampling/analysis and patient integration monitoring/record-keeping program.

Medical Contingency Fund $100K/yr

[#13] Contingency funds for accidental ingestion events (imaging, surgeries, ICU) and low-probability high-cost medical responses.

Cover Story And Legal $50K/yr

[#15] Ongoing monitoring, PR/cover-story maintenance and legal budget for small-scale responses.

Research Sampling And Assays $50K/yr

[#12] Ongoing sampling, assays and analytical costs (GC–MS, histology, molecular work).

Monitoring Program $50K/yr

[#26] Long-term follow-up scheduling, imaging/biopsies and replacement logistics for integrated patients.

Miscellaneous Reserve $50K/yr

[#27] Unanticipated research directions and special-flavour contingencies.

Facilities Maintenance $49K/yr

[#2, #18, #21, #22] HVAC/equipment electricity and filters, freezer electricity/consumables, wastewater maintenance and pro-rated facility overhead.

Insurance $40K/yr

[#23] Liability insurance and financial reserves for lawsuits/regulatory fines.

Logistics And Transport $19K/yr

[#10, #11] Quarantine transfer handling and annual transport/courier logistics for transfers to hospitals/centers.

Quarantine Program Overhead $18K/yr

[#10] Program overhead for quarantine rooms, clinical monitoring protocols and logistics when extra instances are sent to medical centers.

Supplies And Consumables $17K/yr

[#4, #5, #6, #7, #17, #20] Autoclave consumables, PPE replacement, daily food/feed procurement and sterilization, biohazard disposal, specialized PPE monitoring, routine lab consumables.

Breeding Program $8K/yr

[#9] Staff time and consumables for controlled-breeding, mating regulation and population control.

Training And Certification $8K/yr

[#24] Annual recertification and competency checks for medical staff performing monitoring/surgical interventions.

Quarantine Transfers $6K/yr

[#10] Per-transfer handling and setup costs (assumes several transfers per year).

Emergency Drills $4K/yr

[#14] Annual drills and testing of containment breach response and medical evacuation procedures.

It Operations $3K/yr

[#19] Secure servers, encrypted backups and IT security operations costs.

Inventory Maintenance $2K/yr

[#16] LIMS maintenance, RFID/tag replacement and labeling inspections.

Security Maintenance $1K/yr

[#3] Annual maintenance/monitoring costs for security/access controls and CCTV.

Autoclave Consumables And Decon $1K/yr

[#4] Consumables for autoclave and decontamination (sterilant, footbaths).

Freezer Maintenance $1K/yr

[#18] Freezer electricity and consumables for biobank storage.

Wastewater Maintenance $1K/yr

[#21] Maintenance of trap filters and inline sterilizers to prevent environmental contamination.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $987K/yr

94.0% probability / year

Normal operational year with no major incidents; routine staffing, research, supplies and planned drills.

routine_operations scheduled_research_and_maintenance

🚨 Minor Incident $952K/yr

5.0% probability / year +$-34250 vs baseline

Localized accidental ingestion by staff or patient requiring medical intervention, cleanup and limited PR/legal engagement.

staff_accidental_ingestion localized_contamination

🚨 Major Public Exposure $1.4M/yr

1.0% probability / year +$391K vs baseline

Widespread public exposure (e.g., contaminated consumer product discovery) requiring large-scale recalls, legal settlements, mass medical response and containment scale-up.

consumer_product_association mass_exposure_or_recall

👥 Personnel 3.5 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	2	[#8] Two on-site security personnel for access control and monitoring (~$50k each incl. benefits).
Research Technician / Lab Technician	1	[#8] One full-time lab technician/animal handler responsible for feeding, sampling and daily care.
Research Scientist / Medical Specialist	0.5	[#8] 0.5 FTE oversight for research, medical integration and protocol oversight.

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges, enabling reasonable point estimates, but many items are range-based and contingency reserves are policy-dependent, so uncertainty remains.

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