Clyde residents are worried about the potential health risks a natural-gas power plant could pose if it’s built in their community.

Such concerns in this town are not taken lightly — it’s host to a childhood cancer cluster that has perpetually baffled top-level health experts.

Some Clyde residents attended a public hearing Thursday to weigh in on a developer’s plan to build the power plant at 300 Premier Drive.

The Ohio EPA was required to host the meeting as part of the permit process.

The proposed builder, Sandusky-Clyde Energy Solutions, must obtain an air-pollution control permit to move forward on the energy facility, which would include seven natural-gas fired engines.

The company actually received permission in September 2010 to build the power plant at 1357 McPherson Highway, but those plans were scrapped because of problems with a railroad right-of-way.

The company is now reapplying for the air-pollution permit for the new location.

Thursday’s meeting addressed just one phase of the project: the installation of the seven engines.

Residents are more concerned about another phase, which involves “pyrolysis,” a process in which the facility would convert trash into energy.

The process involves vaporizing organic biological matter to create energy, said Jan Tredway of the Ohio EPA’s air-pollution control division.

Sandusky-Clyde Energy would have to obtain special permits for that process as well.

But the company could have a tough row to hoe.

Residents in Clyde and areas nearby are still trying to pinpoint the cause of a cancer cluster that has affected 28 children in eastern Sandusky County.

Any talks of building a pollution-generating facility in this neck of the woods, then, is certain to be greeted with serious questions.

Sandusky County administrator Warren Brown wanted to know if similar facilities have suffered failures elsewhere in the U.S., while residents were concerned about pollution from the plant, such as nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide.

The EPA would allow the plant to emit almost 12 tons of carbon monoxide and about 3 tons of nitrogen oxide, EPA officials said.

EPA inspectors would visit the site within six months of startup, then conduct follow-up inspections every two years, Tredway said.

If problems arose, they’d inspect the facility more often.

That was little consolation to people like Kenneth Turner, of Clyde, who said he’s worried because the plant would be so close to McPherson Middle School.

“It’s too close to the school to have these questions unanswered,” Turner said. “We do not want them to experiment with our town.”

A business partner in the project is R&A Energy Solutions.

Jim Anderson, principal and executive vice president of R&A Energy, attended Thursday’s meeting, but made no statements to the crowd.

Later, however, Anderson said the “pyrolysis” method is safe and is not an experiment.

“This is going on all over the country,” Anderson said. “Everyone wants alternative energy, and garbage is a great source.”