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SCP-8455 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-8455
Expected annual
$133K
One-time setup
$54K
Annual recurring
$131K
Personnel
3
Initial setup costs are modest (~$53.6k) driven by acoustic containment, forensic testing, and initial legal/training work; main recurring costs (~$131k/yr) are staff wages, transport/logistics, legal/privacy oversight, and a budget for investigative use.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $54K
Equipment $19K
[#2, #3, #5, #6, #8, #13] Sound-isolated containment box; transport case kit; CCTV/audio recording hardware and DVR/NVR; microphones and audio-analysis hardware; EM/spectrum analyzers and small Faraday enclosure; initial chain-of-custody/evidence-management software purchase/setup.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $12K
[#7] Forensic/materials analysis budget (XRF, SEM, mass spec, isotopic testing) and any outsourced analytical lab fees for initial provenance/materials work.
Legal Retainer $8K
[#14] Initial legal counsel retainer and preparation of permissible-use policies and cover-story documentation.
Provenance Research Project $5K
[#22] One-time deep provenance and historical research project (archival access fees, interviews, paid records).
Sop Development And Initial Training $4K
[#12] One-time SOP development, documentation, and initial certification/training exercises for handlers and field agents.
Facilities $3K
[#1] Purchase and installation of a heavy-duty, tamper-resistant small-object locker and associated lock/key management.
Security Clearances Initial $3K
[#11] Initial background checks and clearance processing for handlers (one-time per-person initial cost).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $131K/yr
Staff Wages $61K/yr
[#9, #10] Part-time PI and technician assignments plus custodial/evidence technician wages (salary + fringe, aggregated annual cost).
Investigative Case Budget $20K/yr
[#21] Annual budget for per-investigation usage of SCP-8455 (travel, staff time, coordination with cases).
Logistics And Transport $10K/yr
[#4] Secure courier/escorted transport budget for inter-site moves and field operations (aggregated annual cost).
Incident Response Reserve $10K/yr
[#20] Contingency reserve for emergency retrieval, forensic re-analysis, or remediation after unauthorized disclosure (reserve replenishment).
Research And Monitoring $8K/yr
[#5, #6, #8, #13] Ongoing audio-analysis software licenses/transcription services, EM instrument calibration, periodic targeted testing, and ongoing monitoring/archival costs not captured elsewhere.
Privacy Ethics Oversight $6K/yr
[#15] Privacy review board time, redaction workflow costs, and ethics oversight for disclosures of owner information revealed by SCP-8455.
Cover Story And Legal $3K/yr
[#14] Ongoing legal counsel, compliance support, and cover-story/liaison costs for law-enforcement interactions.
Insurance Liability $3K/yr
[#16] Operational liability insurance or internal contingency funding for off-site agent possession.
Psychological Support $2K/yr
[#18] Counseling, pre/post-exposure briefings, and psychological screening resources for handlers/investigators.
Training And Refresher $2K/yr
[#12] Annual refresher training, tabletop exercises, and re-certification for handlers and field agents.
Supplies And Consumables $2K/yr
[#17] Gloves, evidence bags, labels, batteries, replacement seals (general consumables for handling and testing).
It Data Security $2K/yr
[#19] Encrypted storage, backups, admin time, and occasional audits for audio/text log security.
Facilities Maintenance $1K/yr
[#5] Locker and CCTV/audio system maintenance, minor repairs, and local storage hardware upkeep.
Chain Of Custody Hosting $1K/yr
[#13] Hosting/licensing and backups for digital chain-of-custody / evidence-logging system.
Tamper Seals $500/yr
[#3] Recurring purchase of tamper-evident seals and replacement seals for transport kits.
Security Clearance Renewals $500/yr
[#11] Annual/periodic renewal fees for personnel vetting and background check maintenance.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $131K/yr
94.5% probability / year
Normal year with routine handling, scheduled research, and no unauthorized disclosures or major incidents.
no_incidents scheduled_research routine_transport
🚨 Minor Incident $156K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$25K vs baseline
Small unauthorized audio leak, tamper-evidence failure, or field-agent mishap requiring incident response, legal fees, and limited remediation.
unauthorized_audio_leak tamper_seal_breach field_agent_compromise
🚨 Major Breach $206K/yr
0.5% probability / year +$75K vs baseline
Public exposure or criminal intervention leading to sustained remediation, legal action, major forensic analysis, and potential retrieval operations.
public_exposure criminal_intervention major_unauthorized_disclosure
👥 Personnel 3 total
Role Count Notes
Research Scientist 1 [#9] Part-time PI-level assignment (0.1–0.25 FTE equivalent; accounted for in staff_wages).
Research Technician 1 [#9] Technician time for tests, audio capture, and instrument operation (0.2–0.5 FTE equivalent; accounted for in staff_wages).
Custodial / Evidence Technician 1 [#10] Day-to-day stewardship, sign-in/out, chain-of-custody handling (0.25–0.5 FTE equivalent; accounted for in staff_wages).
📋 Confidence Notes
Costs are derived from explicit analyst ranges for each line item but many items are range-based (equipment quality, number of trips, per-investigation caseload). Staffing FTEs and frequency of transport/incidents are estimated, so totals have moderate uncertainty.
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