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SCP-954 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-954
Expected annual
$514K
One-time setup
$306K
Annual recurring
$486K
Personnel
5
One-time setup ≈ $306k for soundproofing, monitoring equipment, research setup and backups; recurring annual costs ≈ $486k driven mainly by specialist staff wages, overhead, incident contingency and research/monitoring.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $306K
Facilities $110K
[#1, #2, #3] Sound‑isolated containment room conversion, exterior vestibule/seals and HVAC setup (duct silencers/vibration isolation).
Research Pilot Study $90K
[#13] Budgeted one‑time cost for an initial fMRI/human pilot study collaboration (imaging fees, subject costs).
Equipment $46K
[#4, #5, #6, #7, #17, #21] Terrarium(s), acoustic microphones/sensors, vibration/accelerometer sensors, video/high‑speed cameras, transport container, duplicate habitat/monitoring hardware.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $31K
[#13, #15] EEG setup and servers/analysis workstation for initial data acquisition and processing.
Staff Screening $14K
[#10] Up‑front background screening and psychological/vetting costs for operational staff (Level‑2 clearance vetting).
Permitting And Compliance $6K
[#18] Initial permitting / CITES / collection legal fees (depends on provenance complexity).
Ethics And Compliance $5K
[#14] One‑time IACUC/IRB/ethics submissions, legal review and initial compliance costs.
Training And Sop Development $4K
[#19] Initial SOP development and staff training rollout.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $486K/yr
Staff Wages $295K/yr
[#8, #9] Lead researcher (~$120k), 1 lab tech (~$55k), 1 animal care tech (~$40k), 2 security guards (~2×$40k) — total specialist salaries.
Project Management And Overhead $75K/yr
[#25] Administrative overhead and project/site allocation (estimated ~15–30% of direct costs; mid estimate used).
Research And Monitoring $36K/yr
[#5, #6, #7, #13, #15] Calibration/maintenance for acoustic sensors (~$1k), vibration sensor maintenance (~$300), video storage (~$1.25k), ongoing modest research budget (~$30k/yr), data storage/software licenses (~$3k/yr).
Incident Response $28K/yr
[#20] Annual contingency budget for medical evaluations, counseling, emergency containment/decontamination and small public incidents (midpoint of recommended contingency range).
Cover Story And Legal $18K/yr
[#22, #23] Public liaison/cover story and facility liability/legal retainer/insurance combined (~$8.5k + ~$9k/yr).
Logistics And Transport $15K/yr
[#17] Field collection/expedition budget (travel, per diems, permits) averaged to one expedition/year (~$15k/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $10K/yr
[#3, #24, #21] HVAC energy/maintenance (~$4.8k/yr), miscellaneous acoustic/structural repairs (~$3k/yr), redundant containment ops (~$2k/yr).
Supplies And Consumables $4K/yr
[#4, #11] Terrarium consumables and animal feeding (live insects, substrate, water) and routine husbandry supplies (~$4.5k/yr).
Clearance And Screening $2K/yr
[#10] Annual clearance renewals and periodic re‑screening costs for operational staff.
Veterinary Care $1K/yr
[#12] Routine exotic/amphibian veterinary visits and health screening (~$1.25k/yr).
Training And Sop Refreshers $1K/yr
[#19] Annual refresher training and SOP updates (~$1.25k/yr).
Permitting Renewals $1K/yr
[#18] Routine permit renewals/administrative compliance (~$1k/yr).
Decontamination And Waste Disposal $600/yr
[#16] Routine biological waste disposal and amphibian‑safe disinfectants (~$600/yr).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $486K/yr
70.0% probability / year
Normal year with routine husbandry, monitoring and small‑scale research; no major incidents or large imaging studies.
routine_maintenance ongoing_monitoring small_scale_research
🚨 Minor Incident $526K/yr
10.0% probability / year +$40K vs baseline
Localized containment incident or specimen mortality requiring emergency vet care, repair of soundproofing/room, additional decontamination and PR/legal response.
specimen_mortality localized_vocalization_event containment_repair
🚨 Major Research Study $606K/yr
20.0% probability / year +$120K vs baseline
Large‑scale human subject imaging/fMRI program or extended high‑intensity research campaign requiring substantial imaging fees, subject recruitment and increased staff/time.
fMRI_human_trials extended_external_collaboration scale_up_of_research
👥 Personnel 5 total
Role Count Notes
Lead Researcher (Herpetologist/Neurobiologist) 1 Senior scientist responsible for experiments and oversight (~$120k/yr).
Lab Technician 1 Technical support for experiments and data collection (~$55k/yr).
Animal Care Technician 1 Daily husbandry and specimen care (~$40k/yr).
Security Officer / MTF Agent 2 Access control and transport oversight (~2×$40k/yr).
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide specific line items and ranges for most categories (facilities, equipment, salaries) allowing a reasonable midrange estimate; uncertainty remains around frequency/cost of research imaging studies, incident contingency sizing, and permit/legal variability.
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