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SCP-830 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-830
Expected annual
$3.3M
One-time setup
$4.6M
Annual recurring
$3.2M
Personnel
21
Initial one-time capital and site-specific construction drive upfront costs (secure enclosure, platforms, sensors, and contingency reserves) while recurring personnel (security, researchers, mental-health/rotation) and administrative/support costs dominate annual expenditures.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $4.6M
Retrieval Large Scale $1.5M
[#29] Optional large-scale retrieval/drilling contingency (heavy rigs, contractors, environmental mitigation) if escalation decision is made.
Facilities $1.2M
[#1, #2, #3] Site acquisition, secure containment structure, perimeter works, and reinforced observation platforms/walkways (buffers and expanded footprint to avoid construction over the pool).
Contingency Reserve $1.0M
[#23] Reserved contingency fund for catastrophic incidents, rebuilds, investigations, and large settlements.
Equipment $315K
[#4, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #18, #19, #21] Initial safety-line kit, PPE, AV hardware, digital archive hardware, environmental monitoring system, structural sensors, initial weapons/ballistic hardware, vehicles (purchase), and initial data-hardening/hardening work.
Remote Sampling Robotics Minimal $200K
[#15] Minimal remote sampling/drilling/robotic platform capability for non-contact investigations (one-time baseline remote ROV/robotic arm platform).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $140K
[#16, #28] Laboratory buildout and sample-analysis equipment plus archival/digitization startup funding.
Remediation Liner $100K
[#13] Possible pool-liner/cutoff wall remediation if monitoring indicates leakage (conditional one-time remediation).
Marksmen Initial Gear Training $90K
[#5] Initial tactical gear and training costs for armed response team and designated marksmen (one-time outfitting and qualification).
Training Program Initial $50K
[#17] Initial curriculum and training setup for communicators, safety drills, and termination procedures.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $3.2M/yr
Staff Wages $1.8M/yr
[#5, #6, #7, #8] Salaries for armed response team/marksmen, security guards/access staff, on-site researchers/interrogators/translators, and on-site medical staff.
Administrative Overhead $525K/yr
[#30] HR, payroll, procurement, taxes and benefits approximated as ~30% of personnel salary budget.
Cover Story And Legal $275K/yr
[#22, #27] Ongoing cover-story maintenance, PR, legal counsel retainers, liaison with local authorities, insurance and lobbying/legal defense budgets.
Facilities Maintenance $120K/yr
[#20] Utilities, HVAC, water, lighting, routine maintenance and janitorial for a staffed facility.
Research And Monitoring $110K/yr
[#11, #12, #13, #14, #16, #17] AV/storage maintenance and secure backups, digital-archive ops, routine environmental testing/monitoring, structural monitoring calibration, lab consumables, and refresher training support for research operations.
Mental Health Program $100K/yr
[#9] Rotational staffing, counseling, neuropsych assessments, and mental-health programs for communicators.
Translator Training Pipeline $75K/yr
[#25] Continuous recruitment, specialized language training, and maintenance of translator/linguist capability.
Data Security And Cyber Defense $60K/yr
[#21] Classified network ops, secure backups, audits, and ongoing cyber-defense for sensitive transcripts and archives.
Medical Ops And Contracts $55K/yr
[#8] Medevac contracts, on-call paramedic support contracts, and medical operational costs (excludes medic salary already in staff_wages).
Burial And Forensic Budget $50K/yr
[#24] Annual budgeting for covert forensic handling, cover-up logistics, and per-incident disposal costs (budgeted reserve for likely occasional incidents).
Logistics And Transport $40K/yr
[#19] Vehicle O&M, fuel, site transport, emergency evacuation readiness, and routine logistics.
Supplies And Consumables $20K/yr
[#10, #26] PPE replacement, decontamination consumables, batteries, stationery, replacement harness webbing, gloves, microphones, sample containers, and other day-to-day expendables.
Archival Maintenance $15K/yr
[#28] Ongoing archival cataloguing, digitization maintenance, and protected compensation for historical research cataloguing.
Ammo And Weapons Maintenance $12K/yr
[#18] Ammunition resupply, weapons maintenance and range qualification costs.
Safety Systems Inspection $5K/yr
[#4] Annual inspection, recertification, and replacement schedule for fall-arrest systems, harnesses and anchors.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $3.2M/yr
82.0% probability / year
Normal operational year with routine research, containment, and staffing; no major incidents or escalation.
no incidents routine ops
🚨 Minor Incident $3.6M/yr
15.0% probability / year +$350K vs baseline
Localized equipment failure, minor structural damage, or single-person medical/containment incident requiring repairs, investigations, and limited settlements.
small structural failure single fatality or medical evacuation equipment replacement
🚨 Major Breach $5.7M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$2.5M vs baseline
Catastrophic containment failure or mass-casualty collapse (e.g., significant catwalk collapse) requiring major rebuild, investigations, large settlements, and staff replacement.
catwalk collapse mass-casualty event major rebuild
🚨 Retrieval Operation $5.2M/yr
1.0% probability / year +$2.0M vs baseline
Decision-year in which a retrieval/drilling operation is executed to attempt recovery of hypothesized object at pool bottom, incurring large one-time operational costs.
research escalation approved retrieval/drilling
👥 Personnel 21 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent (armed response & marksmen) 6 [#5] Designated marksmen and tactical operatives who provide termination authority and immediate armed response.
Security Guard / Access Control 6 [#6] 24/7 site staffing, shift coverage, and access control to prevent unauthorized approach.
Research Scientist / Interrogator / Translator 6 [#7] On-site researchers, trained communicators, interrogators and linguists for face interviews and translation.
Medical Officer / Paramedic 1 [#8] On-site medic/paramedic for immediate response; medevac contracts budgeted separately.
Administrative Staff 2 [#30] HR, payroll, procurement and site administrative support (headcount included in personnel budget and covered by administrative overhead).
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges for most categories, but several high-cost items (retrieval, contingency reserve, per-incident burial costs) are optional and highly variable; staffing mixes and regional land costs add uncertainty.
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