IRTO Siberia/Main Facility/Sublevel -12

Sublevel -12, also known as Geological Heat Rejection Systems, is a sublevel of the Main Facility that contains underground cooling equipment used to dissipate thermal energy from the main loop of the facility's bridge laboratory into a series of natural caves via the use of a number of axial fans. The systems are used in tandem with the surface exhaust systems, but only operate when a bridge pulse is in progress, unlike the surface systems that run constantly at low speeds. Heat exchangers are used for the fluid-to-air interface. Several notable incidents have occurred with the heat exchangers on this level where the failure of temperature sensors caused the exchangers to overheat and literally melt.