SCP-5955 — SCP-5955 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-5955 Euclid ? low confidence

SCP-5955

Expected annual

$56.5M

One-time setup

$97.0M

Annual recurring

$53.6M

Personnel

Initial one-time setup is dominated by monitoring, capture hardware and optional large-scale engineering; annual operating costs are driven primarily by personnel, event surge response and potential blackout compensation to businesses. Baseline recurring cost is approximately $53.6M/yr, but adverse years can raise costs by tens of millions.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $97.0M

Large Engineering Mitigation $80.0M

[#24] Optional large-scale engineering (offshore platform, net-ring, artificial island) — very high-capital, optional containment attempt.

Equipment $8.0M

[#3, #4, #5, #10, #11, #14, #15] Remote monitoring moored buoys and shore-based sensor hardware, patrol vessels purchase/outfit, biohazard handling equipment, specimen storage freezers/lockers, capture hardware, secure communications hardware.

Mitigation R&D $6.0M

[#13] One-time R&D for non-light mitigation measures (nets, mechanical interceptors, chemical/sonic/magnetic systems).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $1.5M

[#9] Scientific research & trigger-identification program start-up costs: BSL lab setup, instruments and initial consumables.

Temporary Blackout Infrastructure $1.1M

[#22] Procurement of deployable blackout tarps, lamp shields and directional covers for municipal poles and vendors.

Facilities $325K

[#1] Buoy perimeter construction and installation: larger, vandal-resistant buoys, moorings, anchors and installation vessel/crane time.

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $53.6M/yr

Blackout Compensation $26.5M/yr

[#7] Compensation and enforcement costs associated with coastal blackout (utilities, commercial compensation) — wide range; this reflects a mid/high-cost operational posture.

Liability Reserve $11.0M/yr

[#19] Annual allocation to a liability/contingency reserve for unexpected damages, lawsuits or large compensations.

Research And Monitoring $3.0M/yr

[#3, #4, #9, #13, #20] Telemetry and monitoring ops (moored and shore sensors), recurring research program costs, mitigation testing, and environmental impact monitoring/remediation.

Annual Surge Response $3.0M/yr

[#6] Annual concentrated surge-response for the July 3 event: leased vessels/aircraft, surge personnel, temporary command posts and overtime.

Staff Wages $2.8M/yr

[#5, #16] Full-time containment team payroll including mariners, scientists, UAV operators, technicians, security, logistics and administrative staff (mariners included in this total).

Cover Story And Legal $2.6M/yr

[#18] Ongoing legal, public relations and cover operations, municipal liaison, permit handling and anticipated legal defense.

Public Safety And Evacuation $1.6M/yr

[#8] Temporary barricades, crowd control, shelters, signage, targeted compensations and evacuation logistics during events.

Training And Drills $550K/yr

[#17] Full-scale annual drills, interagency exercises, travel and temporary hires for rehearsal.

Insurance Premiums $550K/yr

[#23] Specialized insurance, indemnities and premium load for anomalous risk coverage.

Public Health Outreach $425K/yr

[#21] Ongoing medical surveillance, outreach, hotline and clinic staffing, and epidemiological studies.

Program Management $375K/yr

[#25] Annual program office overhead: audits, contract management and interagency coordination.

Supplies And Consumables $250K/yr

[#10] Biohazard PPE, pathology consumables, secure cold-storage consumables and medical surveillance supplies.

Logistics And Transport $250K/yr

[#5] Fuel, routine vessel maintenance and transportation logistics for baseline patrol vessels.

Temporary Blackout Operations $175K/yr

[#22] Deployment, storage and logistics costs for temporary blackout infrastructure per year.

Hazardous Waste Disposal $150K/yr

[#12] Per-event hazardous-waste transport, incineration/autoclave/neutralization fees averaged as annual recurring cost.

Capture Equipment Maintenance $125K/yr

[#14] Maintenance and upkeep of heavy nets, ROVs, grappling gear and subsea collection baskets.

Secure Communications $125K/yr

[#15] Satellite service fees, encrypted comms and hardened command post communications redundancy.

Facilities Maintenance $95K/yr

[#2, #11] Routine buoy/sensor maintenance and replacement; specimen storage & inventory upkeep.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $53.6M/yr

75.0% probability / year

Normal year with planned monitoring, yearly July 3 surge response and routine operations; no major incidents or expanded compensation demands.

planned_July_3_surge routine_maintenance no_major_compensations

🚨 Minor Incident $56.6M/yr

20.0% probability / year +$3.0M vs baseline

A worse-than-usual July 3 activity requiring extra surge assets and modest additional compensation/repairs.

localized_increase_in_SCP-5955-1_production extra_surge_response small_compensation_payouts

🚨 Major Breach $100.0M/yr

5.0% probability / year +$46.4M vs baseline

Significant magnetism expansion or mass production of SCP-5955-1 forcing broad coastal blackout and large commercial compensation plus legal costs.

widespread_magnetism_expansion full_coastal_blackout_required major_commercial_compensation_and_lawsuits

👥 Personnel 35 total

Role	Count	Notes
Site Director / Executive Staff	1	[#16] Senior oversight and program management.
Research Scientist	4	[#9, #16] Scientists conducting trigger-identification, lab experiments and mitigation R&D.
Technician / Lab Tech	4	[#9, #10] Lab technicians for BSL procedures, sample processing and equipment maintenance.
Security Officer / MTF Agent	6	[#16] Onshore security, perimeter control and public-safety coordination.
Mariners / Patrol Crew	12	[#5, #16] Crewing for 2–4 patrol vessels, OTF Delta-7 operations and maritime response.
UAV Operator	2	[#3, #5] Remote observation and UAV support during patrols and surge.
Engineer / Maintenance	3	[#3, #4, #15] Equipment, sensor and comms maintenance across moored and shore systems.
Medical Officer	1	[#10, #21] Medical surveillance, pathology liaison and responder health.
Administrative Staff	2	[#18, #25] Administrative, legal liaison, contracts and program coordination.

📋 Confidence Notes

Estimates are based on wide analyst ranges, a highly anomalous object with a concentrated annual surge, and significant uncertainty around required compensation, interagency cooperation and feasibility of engineering mitigations.

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