CP&L already has two fuel rod storage pools in use at its nuclear power plant in Wake County and has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to activate two more.
Plant officials say they have added safety measures to reduce the risk of an accident.
But the highly radioactive nature of the rods has some residents up in arms about CP&L's proposal, said Gordon Thompson, executive director of the Institute for Resource and Security Studies and an adviser to Orange County.
"Essentially, Orange County is saying the pools are a dangerous way to store spent fuels."
This is where dry storage comes in. Officials say using dry storage casks is preferable to wet pools because they would eliminate the need to bring reactor waste to Shearon Harris.
"We're very much in favor of dry storage at each generating reactor instead of bringing it to Harris," said Jim Warren, director of the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network.
"The waste is coming from CP&L's other reactors in North and South Carolina. If (CP&L) chooses to do dry storage, they'd drop the plans to import the stuff here."
Dry casks allow each reactor to dispose of its own waste safely. A cask is put into the pool so that water can drain in. Fuel is then moved into the cask. Once the cask has been filled, it can be removed and stored elsewhere.
David Lochbaum, nuclear safety engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said casks not only provide all of the safety measures of pools, but have added benefits, such as the ability to be moved, even while their contents are radioactive.