[font=Verdana]Recmediation Inc. has started demolition at Coronet Industries, a century-old phosphate processor that closed in 2004 amid declining prices for its chief product and allegations that its emissions were harming residents. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The processing buildings and smokestacks will be leveled, company spokesman Tom Stewart said. Some of the office buildings on the west side of the property on [/font][font=Verdana]Coronet Road[/font][font=Verdana] might be spared, he said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The demolition will take about eight months, although residents won't notice anything more than increased truck traffic for another 45-60 days, Stewart said. The work in the first phase of the project will take place indoors before building demolition begins, he said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Coronet opened in the early 1900s just south of the city limits, although some of the buildings on the site were built in the 1950s or later. The factory's smokestacks are a part of the landscape that can be seen for some distance. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Coronet cited declining prices for its animal feed supplement in its decision to cease operations nearly two years ago. [/font]

[font=Verdana]It's not known what will happen to the property in the long-term as cleanup continues. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Residents and former workers have sued Coronet over alleged health problems they blame on pollution from the plant; that litigation is pending. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Coronet has denied that there's any link between its operation and the illnesses, and government health studies have concluded that rates of cancer are no higher around the plant than in the region. [/font]