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SCP-459 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-459
Expected annual
$212K
One-time setup
$11.3M
Annual recurring
$199K
Personnel
4
Estimated one-time setup and contingency costs are approximately $11.32M, dominated by large contingency/reserve items and a speculative specialized research program; baseline recurring costs are about $199k/yr, driven by legal/cover-story retainers, research/monitoring, and a small allocation of staff wages.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $11.3M
Specialized Research Program $10.0M
[#23] Speculative multidisciplinary specialized research program (initial multi-year commitment; lower-bound estimate included as one-time initial commitment).
Facilities $348K
[#2, #19] Secure storage room fit-out install (badge reader, CCTV, motion sensor, intrusion alarm) and optional move-to-test infrastructure build-out (1,500 ft² environmental chamber) one-time build costs.
Insurance Reserve $275K
[#15] Insurance/liability reserve or internal fund to cover accidental damage or discovery (one-time/fund).
Public Disclosure Reserve $275K
[#26] Public-disclosure / crisis simulation reserve for leaks or discovery (one-time/fund).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $150K
[#20] Instrumentation for powered tests: high-resolution meteorological sensors, DAQ, telemetry, fail-safes, power conditioning (one-time research instrumentation).
Containment Upgrade Reserve $138K
[#22] Containment upgrade contingency reserve for emergency retrofit (one-time).
Incident Response Reserve $88K
[#9] Incident-response contingency fund reserved for rapid-response mitigation (one-time/fund).
Disposal Plan $28K
[#24] Disposal/neutralization plan and execution costs (one-time).
Equipment $14K
[#1, #7, #13, #18] Secure locker purchase/install, power isolation/lockout hardware, forensic/technical inspection equipment (one-time instruments), and sensor network one-time hardware costs.
Personnel Vetting $4K
[#16] One-time vetting costs for authorized-access staff (estimated for 3 authorized personnel).
Classified It Setup $2K
[#25] One-time classified IT/communications setup (secure email, keys, initial audit).
Recordkeeping Setup $1K
[#10] One-time secure records/archive setup and encrypted backup initialization.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $199K/yr
Research And Monitoring $103K/yr
[#14, #17, #18, #20, #21] Periodic risk assessment/modeling engagements, EHS emergency drills, sensor network maintenance, instrumentation calibration/consumables; specialist testing personnel costs are per-test and not included in baseline recurring.
Cover Story And Legal $60K/yr
[#12] Legal/cover-story and public-relations retainer to maintain secrecy and respond to media/legal issues.
Staff Wages $20K/yr
[#4, #5, #11, #16] Custodian allocation (0.05 FTE), security daily/weekly checks, senior staff administrative overhead for suspension, and annual refresher training for authorized staff.
Classified It And Comms $8K/yr
[#25] Ongoing classified IT and communications overhead (secure comms, periodic cyber-audit).
Recordkeeping And Archives $3K/yr
[#10] Ongoing secure archive and offsite encrypted backups maintenance and retention management.
Facilities Maintenance $3K/yr
[#2] Ongoing maintenance and monitoring fees for secure storage room fit-out (CCTV, badge reader, intrusion alarm monitoring).
Access Control Administration $1K/yr
[#3] Bi-weekly access-code changes and secure logging system annual costs ($78 admin + $1,000 logging system).
Supplies And Consumables $500/yr
[#6, #13] Tamper-evident seals, labels, evidence bags, chain-of-custody forms and forensic consumables.
Logistics And Transport $0/yr
[#8] Secure transport is per-event ($2k–$15k per move); baseline assumes testing suspended so no regular transport events budgeted here.
Testing Personnel $0/yr
[#21] Specialist testing personnel are budgeted per-test (estimated $2,500–$15,000/day); baseline assumes no regular campaigns while testing suspended.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $199K/yr
93.5% probability / year
Normal year with SCP-459 stored unpowered, routine admin, minimal monitoring and no testing or incidents.
no testing routine admin standard monitoring
🚨 Minor Incident $249K/yr
5.0% probability / year +$50K vs baseline
Small accidental activation or minor containment incident requiring incident-response activation, temporary quarantine, limited repairs and PR/legal engagement.
accidental powering minor containment breach limited discovery risk
🚨 Major Breach $699K/yr
1.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Large-scale activation or containment failure causing significant site damage, extended remediation, containment retrofit and substantial PR/legal costs.
large accidental activation site-wide electrical failure extended atmospheric effects
🚨 Research Scale Up $1.2M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$1.0M vs baseline
Authorized resumption and scaling of testing into an active research program requiring infrastructure build-out, major instrumentation purchases, staffing and increased operational tempo.
testing resumed validated anomalous capabilities funding approval for expanded program
👥 Personnel 4 total
Role Count Notes
Designated Custodian / Level-3 1 [#4] One designated Level-3 custodian assigned responsibility (estimated 0.05 FTE allocation reflected in staff_wages).
Security Officer / Site Security 1 [#5] Site security personnel perform daily/weekly physical checks (part-time time allocation reflected in staff_wages).
Research Scientist / Senior Staff 1 [#11] Senior research/management time for testing suspension administration and O5 coordination (time-costs included in staff_wages).
Administrative Staff (Access Control) 1 [#3] Administrative staff perform bi-weekly code changes and maintain encrypted logs (small time allocation; access-control admin costs included separately).
📋 Confidence Notes
Many routine containment and monitoring costs are well-specified in the notes (medium confidence), but large uncertainty remains around speculative items (specialized research program, major contingencies) causing wide ranges and limiting high confidence.
← SCP-458 ↑ All SCPs SCP-460 →