The reactor system is housed in a concrete rectilinear building and provided with filtration and gas containment.
In the first 24 years of operations, there have been 12 water-into-sodium leaks[2] in the steam generators, routinely addressed by isolating the faulty module with gate valves.
On-power refueling equipment allows for charging the core with fresh fuel assemblies, repositioning and turning the fuel assemblies within the reactor, and changing control and scram system elements remotely.
Each has a primary sodium pump, two intermediate heat exchangers, a secondary sodium pump with an expansion tank located upstream, and an emergency pressure discharge tank.
The operation of the reactor is an international study in progress; Russia, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom currently participate.