SCP-4682 — SCP-4682 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-4682 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-4682

Expected annual

$1.0M

One-time setup

$540K

Annual recurring

$1.0M

Personnel

First-year setup costs are dominated by research lab setup and establishment of a risk reserve; ongoing annual costs are driven by staff salaries (dedicated researcher/tech/compliance/security), digital evidence redaction/forensics, therapy contracts, and PR/legal readiness.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $540K

Risk Reserve Fund $300K

[#21] Establishment of a discretionary risk reserve for catastrophic exposure/takedown/emergency relocation.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $125K

[#13] Controlled imaging/research lab setup, cameras, photometry and psych testing equipment.

Pr Legal Retainer $38K

[#15] One-time PR/legal retainer to establish crisis response capability.

Facilities $24K

[#1, #7] Secure storage locker upgrade (#1) and anti-reflective / mirror removal / room remediation (#7).

Equipment $24K

[#3, #11] Tamper/alarm sensors and access-logging hardware (#3) and secure server & redaction software/hardware (#11).

Cosmetic Procedures Reserve $20K

[#10] Optional cosmetic procedure contingency for affected personnel (one-time discretionary procedures).

Training And Sop Development $4K

[#4] Development of special handling SOP and initial staff training (one-time development/run costs).

Transport Kit $4K

[#17] Hardened carrying case and blackout transport pouch, chain-of-custody forms (one-time kit purchase).

Signage And Policy Materials $2K

[#6] Signage and policy rollout materials to prohibit photography and notify staff.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.0M/yr

Staff Wages $355K/yr

[#5, #16] Dedicated personnel: 1senior researcher (~$150,000), 1 full-time technician (~$80,000), security coverage for transfers (~$60,000), and compliance/audit officer (1.0 FTE, ~$65,000).

Research And Monitoring $250K/yr

[#13] Recurring research program personnel and operating costs for imaging studies and controlled experiments.

Cover Story And Legal $125K/yr

[#15] Ongoing PR/legal crisis capacity and retainer for takedowns and narrative management.

Digital Evidence And Redaction $92K/yr

[#11] Recurring analyst salary(s) for redaction and secure media handling plus software maintenance.

Risk Reserve Replenishment $50K/yr

[#21] Annual replenishment target for the catastrophic exposure fund (keeps reserve available after draws).

Therapy Contracts $30K/yr

[#9] Contracted therapy costs for affected personnel (per-patient frequency and count averaged into an annual program cost).

Media Incident Response $25K/yr

[#12] Ongoing media-incident response team time and forensic deletion tooling; large incidents cost extra.

Personnel Morale Privacy $25K/yr

[#22] Privacy/compensation measures for affected personnel (relocation, privacy packages, reassignment bonuses averaged across staff).

Device Management Mdm $20K/yr

[#8] MDM licenses and administration plus enforcement staff-time to restrict device cameras/uploads for affected personnel.

Testing And D Class $15K/yr

[#14] Controlled testing logistics and D-class/test subject marginal costs for Foundation experiments.

Logistics And Transport $10K/yr

[#17] Transport staff overtime and logistics for secure transfers.

Photo Policy Enforcement $10K/yr

[#6] Enforcement manpower and admin overhead for camera-privilege revocation, audits, and disciplinary processes.

Medical Monitoring $10K/yr

[#10] Routine consults/diagnostics for affected individuals (non-cosmetic monitoring and counseling).

Incident Response Drills $5K/yr

[#18] Annual tabletop and live drills for accidental exposures and leak scenarios.

Supplies And Consumables $2K/yr

[#2, #19] Opaque wrappings and archival packaging (#2) plus small consumables/signage/labels (#19).

Data Storage And Power $2K/yr

[#20] Incremental encrypted storage, electricity and cooling overhead for quarantined media and research data.

Training And Refresher $2K/yr

[#4] Annual refresher training and onboarding costs for SOP compliance.

Facilities Maintenance $1K/yr

[#3] Monitoring/maintenance for tamper/alarm sensors and access logging (~$500–1,500/year).

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.0M/yr

94.0% probability / year

Normal year with no major leaks or incidents; routine containment, research, therapy, and media readiness ongoing.

no leaks regular operations scheduled research and training

🚨 Minor Incident $1.2M/yr

5.0% probability / year +$150K vs baseline

Small-scale leak or limited unauthorized image distribution requiring targeted takedowns, extra forensics and PR/legal actions.

limited imagery leak isolated unauthorized photo circulation

🚨 Major Breach $1.8M/yr

1.0% probability / year +$800K vs baseline

Widespread public dissemination of anomalous imagery requiring large-scale takedowns, emergency relocations, and extensive legal/PR action.

large public leak viral dissemination of anomalous images

👥 Personnel 5 total

Role	Count	Notes
Research Scientist	1	Senior researcher responsible for SCP-4682 program and handling ($150,000 included in staff_wages).
Research Technician	1	Full-time technician supporting experiments and handling ($80,000 included in staff_wages).
Security Officer / MTF Agent	2	Part-time / shift coverage for secure transfers and access control (~$60,000 aggregated yearly cost included in staff_wages).
Compliance Officer / Auditor	1	0.5–1.0 FTE compliance/audit role (treated as 1.0 FTE here, ~$65,000 included in staff_wages).

📋 Confidence Notes

Estimates follow analyst ranges provided; many items are administrative or personnel-driven with known market rates (higher confidence), but several line items (therapy caseload, reserve sizing, incident frequencies) required judgment calls and range midpoints, so medium confidence.

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