HOLLY SPRINGS - Speakers from as far as Washington, D.C., came to Wake County on Tuesday to lobby federal officials who will rule on new nuclear reactors at the Shearon Harris site about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission heard the first public comments on the Shearon Harris expansion at a community center in Holly Springs, the town nearest to the nuclear site.

Progress Energy, the Raleigh-based electric utility, filed for an NRC license to add two reactors in February. It was one of the nation's first applications for new reactors in several decades. The NRC will spend more than three years reviewing the application.

About 50 people attended afternoon and evening sessions. Nuclear energy is a subject that elicits the extremes of human behavior: from an engineer's monotone drone on thermodynamics to impassioned opponents storming company headquarters in acts of civil disobedience.

Tuesday's meetings tilted toward the sober end.

Holly Springs councilman Vinnie DeBenedetto urged officials to expand local roads to aid emergency preparedness and evacuation planning. Since the nuclear plant began operating 21 years ago, the size of the population living within 10 miles of the reactor has swelled from about 15,000 to about 74,000.

"There's a fear among citizens that should there be an emergency the inadequate roads will be gridlocked," DeBenedetto said.

Nina Cann-Woode, a field representative at the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition in Washington, pressed the NRC to approve the nuclear expansion to counteract global warming. Because nuclear energy does not burn a fossil fuel such as coal, it does not generate carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas blamed for climate change.

"Nuclear energy is clean," Cann-Woode said. "It's the only large-scale, emissions-free source of electricity."

The NRC's role Wednesday was limited to explaining its rules and procedures, and accepting public comments from the audience.

The focus of the meeting was environmental impacts of adding two reactors, but critics stressed a wider range of concerns: safety, terrorism and cost. Supporters emphasized economic benefits, reliability and the need for more electricity in a rapidly growing region.

The NRC will use Tuesday's public comments to help assess the environmental impacts of new reactors at the Shearon Harris site. The assessment also will be based on an on-site audit conducted at Shearon Harris by NRC staff, as well as on data from state and federal officials.

NRC's slow pace

For many, the NRC process may seem to move at a glacial pace. The final environmental statement won't be issued until 2010.

The environmental assessment is separate from a safety review also conducted by the NRC. The safety review will consider such issues as operating safety, operator training, emergency preparedness and security against terrorist attack.

Progress Energy won't make a final decision on building nuclear reactors until at least next year.

One of the key concerns about any nuclear plant is adequate supply of water to cool the reactor. A nuclear reactor requires about 21 million gallons of water a day, half of which is lost to evaporation through the cooling tower, with the rest returned to local rivers or other water sources.

Since 1987, the existing reactor at Shearon Harris has relied on man-made Harris Lake for cooling water. But the utility's reliance on a single water source would end if Progress adds new reactors, which would require pumping between 42 million and 80 million gallons a day from the Cape Fear River to supplement Harris Lake.

Other issues the NRC will weigh include:

* Environmental impacts on local wildlife.

* Transportation of waste.

* Decommissioning, or mothballing, the nuclear plant at the end of its life cycle.

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.