SCP-872 — SCP-872 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-872 Safe ~ medium confidence

SCP-872

Expected annual

$1.6M

One-time setup

$2.2M

Annual recurring

$1.6M

Personnel

One-time startup costs depend on whether land must be acquired; expected one-time range ~$200k–$3M with main drivers being land and heavy perimeter build-out. Recurring annual costs driven by security staffing, carcass disposal and veterinary/medical readiness; baseline recurring budget ~ $1.6M/yr.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $2.2M

Land Acquisition $800K

[#1] Purchase/long-term lease of rural parcels to guarantee ~2 km buffer (100–500 ha).

Contingency Reserve $500K

[#18] Emergency neutralization / surge procurement reserve (heavy machinery, surge personnel, aerial ops).

Vehicles Purchase $210K

[#9] Purchase of armored/reinforced light SUV(s) and support truck(s).

Initial Research And Lab Setup $120K

[#13] Lab setup and instrumentation for PCR, histology, toxicology and sample cold storage.

Permanent Perimeter $120K

[#16] Permanent outer perimeter fence, electrification, gates and signage for a small secured compound.

Decommissioning Reserve $100K

[#22] One-time reserve fund for long-term archiving / present-value planning if SCP archived.

Facilities $90K

[#3] Secure cold-storage containment chamber buildout (small climate-controlled vault, reinforced door, access controls).

Surveillance Hardware $80K

[#8] Networked cameras, thermal/IR sensors, motion/ground acoustic sensors and comms hardware.

Relocation Payments $50K

[#17] One-off relocation payments to affected farms as needed during initial containment setup.

It Infrastructure $30K

[#14] Secure servers and initial encrypted communications setup for classified records and video storage.

Generator Purchase $30K

[#20] Backup generator purchase for refrigeration, sensors and comms redundancy.

Sector Reassignment $20K

[#2] Administrative reassignment / logistics if using an existing remote Foundation Sector instead of land purchase.

Temporary Perimeter Equipment $15K

[#7] Initial portable fencing, crowd barriers, signage, lighting, sandbags, electrified deterrent units kit.

Initial Training $15K

[#15] Initial training and tactical preparedness courses (simulator time, contractors).

Equipment $0

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🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.6M/yr

Staff Wages $1.1M/yr

[#5, #10, #13, #21] Salaries and benefits: 9security guards (24/7 rotation), 1 site supervisor, 2 research scientists, 1 veterinarian/animal specialist, 1 program manager, 1 administrative staff.

Administrative Overhead $100K/yr

[#21] Administrative overhead and program management (10–20% typical).

Controlled Observation $78K/yr

[#6] Monthly controlled observation overtime and Level-4 oversight prorated (overtime cost for 10 guards per event + oversight).

Medical And Emergency $68K/yr

[#11] Medevac contract, contingency for hospitalizations, workers' comp and ER contingencies.

Legal Retainer $60K/yr

[#19] Legal retainer and routine legal/compliance support for covert operations and incident backstops.

Compensation Coverup $50K/yr

[#17] Annual reserve for reimbursements, secret relocations, misinformation and farmer relations.

Carcass Disposal $42K/yr

[#12] Incineration/rendering/disposal for ~4 carcasses/month plus necropsy lab time and sample retention.

Research Consumables $35K/yr

[#13] Sequencing, histology, toxicology consumables and sample storage consumables.

Veterinary Consumables And Training $21K/yr

[#10] Consumables (tranquilizers, darts, PPE) and veterinary training / refresher courses.

Surveillance Service $18K/yr

[#8] Drone patrol service contracts and annual service/maintenance for sensors/CCTV.

Vehicles Maintenance $15K/yr

[#9] Fuel, maintenance and upkeep for site vehicles and response transport.

It Support $15K/yr

[#14] Ongoing IT support, secure backups, and cybersecurity for classified data.

Training And Tactical $9K/yr

[#15] Annual recertification, simulator time and contractor animal-behaviorist engagements.

Perimeter Maintenance $8K/yr

[#16] Power and maintenance costs for permanent perimeter electrification and fencing.

Decommissioning Annual $8K/yr

[#22] Annual storage, inspection and periodic checks for long-term archiving.

Generator Fuel And Maintenance $5K/yr

[#20] Annual fuel stockpile replenishment and generator testing/maintenance.

Cold Storage Energy $4K/yr

[#4] Electricity for refrigeration/climate control and modest HVAC maintenance contracts.

Temporary Perimeter Maintenance $1K/yr

[#7] Replacement/maintenance of portable fencing, signage and deterrent units.

Facilities Maintenance $0/yr

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Supplies And Consumables $0/yr

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Research And Monitoring $0/yr

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Logistics And Transport $0/yr

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Cover Story And Legal $0/yr

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⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.6M/yr

80.0% probability / year

Normal uneventful year with routine observations and no major incidents.

regular monthly observations no perimeter breaches routine maintenance

🚨 Minor Incident $1.7M/yr

18.0% probability / year +$115K vs baseline

Localized perimeter breach or increased animal aggression requiring overtime response, additional carcass disposal and legal/compensation.

small-scale livestock incursion medical treatment / minor property damage short-term surge staffing

🚨 Major Breach $2.6M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$1.0M vs baseline

Significant containment failure or rapid spread of affected animals requiring large-scale neutralization, heavy equipment, aerial operations and extensive cleanup.

widespread animal spread outside buffer multiple simultaneous breaches need for large-scale culling/quarantine

👥 Personnel 15 total

Role	Count	Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent	9	[#5] Nine guards to cover 24/7 rotations (3 per shift).
Site Supervisor	1	[#5] On-site supervisory position for daily operations and incident command.
Research Scientist	2	[#13] Two FTE researchers for sample analysis and observation events.
Veterinarian / Animal Specialist	1	[#10] On-call/vetted veterinarian for assessments and humane handling.
Site Director / Program Manager	1	[#21] Program manager responsible for budgeting, liaison and oversight.
Administrative Staff	1	[#21] Administrative support for records, travel, and clearance processing.

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst notes provide detailed line items and ranges, enabling a reasoned estimate, but many items (land costs, incident frequency, scale of emergency response) are highly variable so totals retain uncertainty.

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