← SCP Cost Explorer Read on SCP Wiki ↗
SCP-390 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-390
Expected annual
$5.4M
One-time setup
$8.2M
Annual recurring
$5.2M
Personnel
29
Initial capital costs are substantial (~$8.2M) driven by specialized containment vault construction, remote test range build, equipment and contingency reserves; recurring annual costs (~$5.2M/yr) are dominated by staff wages, ongoing research programs, security, and operations.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $8.2M
Facilities $2.5M
[#1, #7] Vault construction ($1,150,000 midpoint) and remote test-range build ($1,400,000 midpoint) including land, target infrastructure and suppression integration.
Contingency Reserve $2.0M
[#20] One-time contingency/reserve set-aside (chosen midpoint $2,000,000 within $1M–$5M guidance).
Equipment $1.3M
[#2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #10, #11, #12, #17] Environmental control install ($225,000), fire-suppression install ($150,000), access/CCTV ($60,000), shielding ($50,000), handling equipment ($85,000), remote operations hardware ($275,000), fire-response vehicle/equipment ($275,000), generator/UPS ($90,000), data systems one-time ($125,000).
Decommissioning Fund $800K
[#25] Decontamination/decommissioning set-aside (midpoint $800,000).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $650K
[#9] Long-range sensor and instrumentation suite one-time buildout (midpoint $650,000) for thermal/optical characterization and meteorological instrumentation.
Initial Transport $350K
[#18] Initial covert extraction/transport and heavy-crate shipping (midpoint $350,000).
Legal Cover Initial $300K
[#19] Initial legal/cover-story setup costs, retainers and initial settlements (midpoint $300,000).
Pr Reserve Initial $100K
[#26] Initial public-relations / incident-response reserve (one-time component midpoint $100,000).
Conservation Major Intervention $60K
[#15] Occasional large conservation intervention (one-time component midpoint $60,000).
Permits Initial $30K
[#22] Initial regulatory/compliance survey and permit costs (midpoint $30,000).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $5.2M/yr
Staff Wages $3.2M/yr
[#11, #13, #14] Security staffing ($525,000), scientific staff salaries including PIs/engineers/technicians ($2,500,000), dedicated fire-response crew staffing & training ($200,000).
Research And Monitoring $835K/yr
[#9, #10, #17, #24] Instrument calibration/consumables ($35,000), remote-ops maintenance ($50,000), data infrastructure operations & security ($50,000), long-term research program baseline funding ($700,000).
Cover Story And Legal $465K/yr
[#8, #19, #22, #26] Ongoing airspace/public-safety coordination or covert arrangements ($200,000), legal retainers/ongoing legal costs ($200,000), permit renewals/inspections ($15,000), PR/incident-response recurring reserve ($50,000).
Remote Range Operations $175K/yr
[#7] Remote test-range annual operations (security, suppression readiness, range staffing and logistics $175,000/yr).
Facilities Maintenance $135K/yr
[#2, #3, #4, #12, #27] HVAC energy & maintenance ($22,500), suppression gas refill/testing ($10,000), access/CCTV monitoring & maintenance ($17,500), generator fuel/reserve ($10,000), miscellaneous facility overhead ($75,000).
Insurance Premiums $125K/yr
[#20] Annual insurance premiums (midpoint $125,000).
Supplies And Consumables $115K/yr
[#15, #16] Ongoing conservation consumables ($30,000) and analytical/test consumables/targets ($85,000).
Specialist Consultants $100K/yr
[#21] External consultants (archaeologists, optics experts, conservators, legal counsel) retainer costs.
Training Drills $40K/yr
[#23] Regular cross-team training, emergency drills and paid exercises ($40,000/yr midpoint).
Logistics And Transport $30K/yr
[#18] Routine climate-controlled transfers and heavy-crate moves (representative annual midpoint $30,000).
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $5.2M/yr
84.0% probability / year
Normal year with routine operations, scheduled tests at planned cadence, and no significant incidents.
routine_testing scheduled_maintenance normal_staff_turnover
🚨 Minor Incident $5.4M/yr
12.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline
Localized accidental ignition or equipment failure requiring repairs, overtime, limited replacement of instrumentation and modest fines.
accidental_ignition equipment_failure small_range_fire
🚨 Major Fire Breach $7.7M/yr
3.0% probability / year +$2.5M vs baseline
Significant containment incident or runaway fire at facility or range causing major equipment loss, extended downtime, large repairs and remediation.
runaway_fire structural_damage major_equipment_loss
🚨 Political Exposure $8.7M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$3.5M vs baseline
Public exposure or legal/political incident requiring large settlements, broad PR/compensation, and potentially temporary suspension of operations.
public_exposure lawsuit_or_settlement major_pr_campaign
👥 Personnel 29 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 10 [#13] 24/7 security staff (8–12 typical); midpoint used (10) and accounted in security payroll.
Research Scientist / Engineers / Conservators 15 [#14] Scientific team (PIs, optical physicists, conservators, engineers, technicians); combined payroll included in scientific staff estimate.
Dedicated Fire-Response Crew 4 [#11] On-site trained fire-response personnel to operate dedicated vehicle and suppression equipment; staffing included in recurring costs.
📋 Confidence Notes
Midline confidence: analyst notes provide ranges for most line items but large drivers (test frequency, covert vs. formal operations, desired redundancy) create significant uncertainty; figures use midpoints and programmatic assumptions.
← SCP-389 ↑ All SCPs SCP-391 →