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SCP-297 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-297
Expected annual
$1.7M
One-time setup
$2.3M
Annual recurring
$1.7M
Personnel
6
One-time setup of hardened, remotely operable containment and high-frequency research instrumentation is estimated at roughly $2.28M; recurring annual costs for staffing, monitoring, transport, waste handling and reserves are about $1.673M, driven primarily by personnel and a contingency reserve.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $2.3M
Equipment $790K
[#2, #3, #4, #10, #11, #18, #21] Lead/steel lockbox ($75,000), hot-cell/remote-handling workstation ($250,000), radiation detectors and portal monitors ($75,000), tamper-proof interlocks/dual-control hardware ($25,000), transport container + armored vehicle ($250,000), fail-safe/destruction hardware ($75,000), auditing/logging IT purchase ($40,000).
Facilities $710K
[#1, #15, #19] Secure vault construction/site upgrades ($600,000), air-handling/HEPA/containment ductwork ($80,000), initial emergency response/decon setup ($30,000).
Decommissioning Disposition $500K
[#17] One-time estimated cost to remove/package/transfer plutonium core to licensed facility or repository ($500,000).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $180K
[#13] Specialized high-frequency vibrational research instrumentation and DAQ ($180,000).
Containment Engineering Consulting $100K
[#26] One-time independent engineering/safety studies (FEA, failure-mode analysis) ($100,000).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.7M/yr
Staff Wages $665K/yr
[#6, #7, #8] Dedicated security team (~3 guards, $240,000/yr), research staff (2 scientists, $300,000/yr), Radiation Safety Officer/health physics support (~$125,000/yr).
Financial Reserve For Catastrophic Breach $500K/yr
[#23] Annual allocation to an insurance/contingency reserve for catastrophic breach, medical costs, rebuilds and litigation (amortized/set-aside $500,000/yr).
Research And Monitoring $215K/yr
[#5, #22] Radiation equipment calibration and monitoring maintenance ($15,000/yr) and recurring scientific experiment budget (assumed 10 experiments/yr at ~$20,000 avg = $200,000/yr).
Waste Handling $100K/yr
[#16] Estimated average annual waste handling and radioactive cleanup (assumed ~2 events/yr at ~$50,000/event = $100,000/yr).
Cover Story And Legal $75K/yr
[#20] Regulatory, legal, records management, FOIA/OPSEC and cover-story costs ($75,000/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $40K/yr
[#25] Long-term maintenance of shielding, HVAC, manipulators, access-control and containment hardware ($40,000/yr).
Logistics And Transport $25K/yr
[#12, #11] Recurring transport operations, escorts and route security for transfers (assumed ~2 moves/yr averaging $10k plus misc ops = $25,000/yr).
Supplies And Consumables $15K/yr
[#14] Consumables, PPE, HEPA filter replacements, decon chemicals and disposables ($15,000/yr).
Training And Certification $12K/yr
[#9] Annual training refreshers, certification renewals and drills ($12,000/yr recurring portion).
It Maintenance $10K/yr
[#21] Annual maintenance and secure-IT operations for auditing/logging systems ($10,000/yr).
Emergency Drills $10K/yr
[#19] Annual multi-disciplinary drills and recurring emergency response exercises ($10,000/yr).
Psychological Screening $6K/yr
[#24] Annual memetic/psych screening, filters and training ($6,000/yr).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.7M/yr
87.0% probability / year
Normal operational year with routine experiments and no major incidents; recurring containment, monitoring, staffing and reserves funded.
routine_research scheduled_transports no_incidents
🚨 Minor Incident $1.8M/yr
10.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline
Localized contamination or experimental accident requiring extra cleanup, short medical response and limited facility downtime.
small_release cleanup_and_medical_response
🚨 Major Breach $3.7M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline
Significant containment failure or public exposure requiring large-scale cleanup, legal/medical costs, reconstruction and high OPSEC/PR response.
containment_breach public_exposure large_scale_cleanup
🚨 Decommissioning Event $2.2M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Deliberate removal and disposition of the plutonium core (plutonium disposition/decommissioning) executed in a given year.
policy_decision_to_dispose regulatory_transfer
👥 Personnel 6 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 3 [#6] Dedicated armed/cleared guards in rotation (budgeted as 3 guards).
Research Scientist 2 [#7] Senior anomalous-objects/materials scientists (2 full-time).
Radiation Safety Officer 1 [#8] Full-time RSO / health physics support (1 FTE).
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide ranges for nearly all line items and clear operational requirements; remaining uncertainty stems from assumptions about experiment cadence, incident frequency, chosen technical options (shielding level, disposal route) and how the contingency reserve is amortized.
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