The Residual Heat Removal System served as a “heat sink” for the removal of residual heat in the reactor core when the activity was halted for maintenance works or re-fuelling.
The RHR System was a structure made of reinforced concrete and supplied with three tanks (for a total volume of 3,000 cubic metres) and three cooling towers.
The hydraulic part of the building (cooling towers: 46 m long, 31 m wide and 24 m high) was dismantled between 2007 and 2008.
In total, 3,100 cubic metres of civil works were dismantled, resulting in 7,000 tonnes of concrete; 300 tonnes of components were removed.
A small portion of the facility is still operating, it contains the necessary electric systems for safe maintenance and decommissioning operations.