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SCP-980 Safe ~ medium confidence
SCP-980
Expected annual
$6.6M
One-time setup
$17.3M
Annual recurring
$6.4M
Personnel
27
Estimated one-time setup and capital costs are approximately $17.25M driven by vault construction, contingency reserves, initial recovery/remediation, and initial R&D/cover-up surges. Recurring annual costs are approximately $6.38M/yr driven by staff wages, long-term research and monitoring, sacrificial viewing panes and sensors, hazardous-waste disposal, and legal/cover operations.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $17.3M
Facilities $8.1M
[#1, #2, #21, #22] Structural and buildwork: containment vault construction, inner suspended lead room fabrication, initial mortuary/cold-storage setup, and fire-suppression installation.
Contingency Reserve $2.8M
[#17] Capital contingency/reserve fund established to mobilize rapid response for catastrophic failure, relocation, large-scale cleanup, and extended cover operations.
Initial Recovery And Acquisition $1.6M
[#14] Costs to secure and acquire the discovery site: recovery/transport, crime-scene remediation, quarantine and relocation/compensation for civilians at discovery.
Initial Research And Lab Setup $1.2M
[#6] Initial R&D and laboratory/prototyping funding for specialized remote/hardened monitoring systems and prototypes.
Insurance Reserve Establishment $1.1M
[#24] Establishment/amortized reserve for self-insurance/indemnity and financial risk buffers.
Coverup Initial Surge $1.1M
[#15] One-time surge legal/PR/compensation/cover costs at discovery or immediate exposure events.
Equipment $702K
[#4, #5, #8, #18] Installed hardware and systems: outer viewing/window initial hardware, HVAC installation, security perimeter installation hardware, and generator installation.
Initial Hazard Remediation $600K
[#13] Initial hazardous/lead waste handling and site remediation immediately after discovery/acquisition.
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $6.4M/yr
Staff Wages $2.6M/yr
[#8, #9, #11] Ongoing wages: perimeter/security staff, core research/technical/operations staff, and medical/on-call emergency staff.
Research And Monitoring $2.1M/yr
[#6, #12, #19, #20, #25] Ongoing R&D/monitoring and support: monitoring system upgrades/maintenance, autopsy/pathology and forensic analysis, psychological screening and staff support, long-term research program funding, and documentation/training/audits.
Cover Story And Legal $800K/yr
[#15, #24] Ongoing legal, PR, information-control operations, and amortized insurance/indemnity budget.
Supplies And Consumables $498K/yr
[#3, #7, #13, #16, #23] Consumables and disposables: inner leaded-glass replacements, sacrificial cameras/sensors, hazardous waste disposal, PPE/decon supplies, and periodic replacement of simplified/destroyed infrastructure items.
Logistics And Transport $250K/yr
[#10] D-class management, transport, secure housing, medical screening, and testing logistics.
Facilities Maintenance $163K/yr
[#4, #5, #18, #21, #22] Recurring maintenance and utilities: outer window maintenance, HVAC energy/filters/maintenance, generator fuel/maintenance, mortuary/storage upkeep, and fire-suppression testing.
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $6.4M/yr
82.5% probability / year
Normal year with routine testing, scheduled replacements, and no major incidents.
scheduled pane/sensor replacement routine maintenance planned research activity
🚨 Minor Incident $6.8M/yr
15.0% probability / year +$400K vs baseline
Localized containment incident or accelerated degradation requiring extra disposals, replacement of multiple sacrificial components, temporary overtime staffing and small-scale remediation.
clustered pane/sensor failures minor contamination event short emergency response mobilization
🚨 Major Breach $12.2M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$5.8M vs baseline
Significant containment failure or localized breach requiring extensive remediation, replacement of core containment elements, mass medical responses, and large-scale cover operations.
structural failure or extended exposure mass-casualty medical response large-scale remediation and relocation
🚨 Political Exposure $8.9M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$2.5M vs baseline
Public exposure or legal/political discovery forcing extensive legal defense, large-scale cover payments, and public-facing remediation.
media leak or public discovery legal action/official inquiry large compensation/settlement demands
👥 Personnel 27 total
Role Count Notes
Security Officer / MTF Agent 12 [#8] Perimeter and site security staffing (estimated midpoint of 8–16 guards).
Research Scientist / Technician 12 [#9] Core research, remote operators, technicians and maintenance staff (midpoint of 8–15 FTEs).
Medical Officer 3 [#11] On-call surgeons, pathologists, EMTs and medical support staff (small team to cover shifts).
📋 Confidence Notes
Notes provide detailed line-item ranges and realistic cost drivers, enabling a mid-confidence estimate. Uncertainty remains due to wide input ranges, anomalous behavior of SCP-980 (unpredictable equipment degradation), and variability in legal/cover-up exposure.
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