COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Environmental Matters

Accruals for environmental matters are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated, based on current law and existing technologies.

At December 31, 2020, the Corporation had accrued obligations of $133 million for probable environmental remediation and restoration costs, including $18 million for the remediation of Superfund sites. These obligations were included in "Accrued and other current liabilities" and "Other noncurrent obligations" in the consolidated balance sheets. This is management's best estimate of the costs for remediation and restoration with respect to environmental matters for which the Corporation has accrued liabilities, although it is reasonably possible that the ultimate cost with respect to these particular matters could range up to approximately two and a half times that amount. Consequently, it is reasonably possible that environmental remediation and restoration costs in excess of amounts accrued could have a material impact on the Corporation's results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. It is the opinion of the Corporation's management that the possibility is remote that costs in excess of the range disclosed will have a material impact on the Corporation's results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Inherent uncertainties exist in these estimates primarily due to unknown environmental conditions, changing governmental regulations and legal standards regarding liability, and emerging remediation technologies for handling site remediation and restoration. As new or additional information becomes available and/or certain spending trends become known, management will evaluate such information in determination of the current estimate of the environmental liability. At December 31, 2019, the Corporation had accrued obligations of $132 million for probable environmental remediation and restoration costs, including $20 million for the remediation of Superfund sites.

In the third quarter of 2019, the Corporation recorded a pretax charge of $55 million, included in "Cost of sales" in the consolidated statements of income, related to environmental remediation matters at a number of current and historical locations. The charge primarily resulted from the culmination of long-standing negotiations and discussions with regulators and agencies, including technical studies supporting higher cost estimates for final or staged remediation plans, and the Corporation’s review of its closure strategies and obligations to monitor ongoing operations and maintenance activities.

The following table summarizes the activity in the Corporation's accrued obligations for environmental matters for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:


Accrued Liability for Environmental Matters
In millions	2020		2019
Balance at Jan 1	$	132	$	94
Accrual adjustment	49		93
Payments against reserve	(47)		(55)
Foreign currency impact	(1)		—
Balance at Dec 31	$	133	$	132

The amounts charged to income on a pretax basis related to environmental remediation totaled $49 million in 2020, $93 million in 2019 and $38 million in 2018. Capital expenditures for environmental protection were $5 million in 2020, $11 million in 2019 and $9 million in 2018.

Litigation

Asbestos-Related Matters

Introduction

The Corporation is and has been involved in a large number of asbestos-related suits filed primarily in state courts during the past four decades. These suits principally allege personal injury resulting from exposure to asbestos-containing products and frequently seek both actual and punitive damages. The alleged claims primarily relate to products that UCC sold in the past, alleged exposure to asbestos-containing products located on UCC’s premises and UCC’s responsibility for asbestos suits filed against a former UCC subsidiary, Amchem Products, Inc. ("Amchem"). In many cases, plaintiffs are unable to demonstrate that they have suffered any compensable loss as a result of such exposure, or that injuries incurred in fact resulted from exposure to the Corporation’s products.

The Corporation expects more asbestos-related suits to be filed against UCC and Amchem in the future, and will aggressively defend or reasonably resolve, as appropriate, both pending and future claims.

Estimating the Asbestos-Related Liability

Based on a study completed by Ankura Consulting Group, LLC ("Ankura") in January 2003, the Corporation increased its December 31, 2002, asbestos-related liability for pending and future claims for a 15-year period ending in 2017 to $2.2 billion, excluding future defense and processing costs. In subsequent years, the Corporation compared current asbestos claim and resolution activity to the results of the most recent Ankura study at each balance sheet date to determine whether the accrual continued to be appropriate.

In 2016, Ankura completed a study to provide estimates for the undiscounted cost of disposing of pending and future claims against UCC and Amchem through the terminal year of 2049, including a reasonable forecast of future defense and processing costs. Based on the study and the Corporation’s internal review of asbestos claim and resolution activity, the Corporation determined estimating the liability through the terminal year of 2049 was more appropriate due to increased knowledge and data about the costs to resolve claims and diminished volatility in filing rates. The Corporation also determined that estimating and accruing a liability for future asbestos-related defense and processing costs was more appropriate as such costs represent expenditures related to legacy activities that do not contribute to current or future revenue generating activities of the Corporation and is also reflective of the manner in which the Corporation manages its asbestos-related exposure, including careful monitoring of the correlation between defense spending and resolution costs. As a result, in the fourth quarter of 2016, the Corporation recorded a $1,113 million increase in its asbestos-related liability for pending and future claims, including future defense and processing costs. Each October, the Corporation requests Ankura to review its historical asbestos claim and resolution activity through the third quarter of the current year, including asbestos-related defense and processing costs, to determine the appropriateness of updating the most recent study.

In December 2018, Ankura completed a study of the Corporation's historical asbestos claim and resolution activity through September 30, 2018, including asbestos-related defense and processing costs, and provided estimates for the undiscounted cost of disposing of pending and future claims against UCC and Amchem through the terminal year of 2049. Based on the study and the Corporation's internal review process, it was determined that no adjustment to the accrual was required.

In December 2019, Ankura stated that an update of its December 2018 study would not provide a more likely estimate of future events than the estimate reflected in the study and, therefore, the estimate in the study remained applicable. Based on the Corporation's internal review process and Ankura's response, the Corporation determined that no change to the accrual was required. At December 31, 2019, the asbestos-related liability for pending and future claims against UCC and Amchem, including future asbestos-related defense and processing costs, was $1,165 million, and approximately 18 percent of the recorded liability related to pending claims and approximately 82 percent related to future claims.

In December 2020, Ankura completed a study of the Corporation's historical asbestos claim and resolution activity through September 30, 2020, including asbestos-related defense and processing costs, and provided estimates for the undiscounted cost of disposing of pending and future claims against UCC and Amchem through the terminal year of 2049. Based on the study and the Corporation's internal review process, it was determined that no adjustment to the accrual was required. At December 31, 2020, the asbestos-related liability for pending and future claims against UCC and Amchem, including future asbestos-related defense and processing costs, was $1,098 million, and approximately 22 percent of the recorded liability related to pending claims and approximately 78 percent related to future claims.

Summary

The Corporation's management believes the amounts recorded for the asbestos-related liability, including defense and processing costs, reflect reasonable and probable estimates of the liability based on current, known facts. However, future events, such as the number of new claims to be filed and/or received each year and the average cost of defending and disposing of each such claim, as well as the numerous uncertainties surrounding asbestos litigation in the United States over a significant period of time, could cause the actual costs for the Corporation to be higher or lower than those projected or those recorded. Any such event could result in an increase or decrease in the recorded liability.

Because of the uncertainties described above, the Corporation cannot estimate the full range of the cost of resolving pending and future asbestos-related claims facing UCC and Amchem. As a result, it is reasonably possible that an additional cost of disposing of asbestos-related claims, including future defense and processing costs, could have a material impact on the Corporation's results of operations and cash flows for a particular period and on the consolidated financial position.

Other Litigation

The Corporation is also involved in a number of legal proceedings and claims with both private and governmental parties. These cover a wide range of matters, including, but not limited to: product liability; trade regulation; governmental tax and regulatory disputes; health, safety and environmental matters; employment matters; patent infringement; contracts; and commercial litigation. While it is not possible at this time to determine with certainty the ultimate outcome of any of the legal proceedings and claims referred to in this filing, management believes that the possibility is remote that the aggregate of all such other claims and lawsuits will have a material adverse impact on the results of operations, cash flows and financial position of the Corporation.

Purchase Commitments

The Corporation has outstanding purchase commitments and various commitments for take-or-pay or throughput agreements. The Corporation was not aware of any purchase commitments that were negotiated as part of a financing arrangement for the facilities that will provide the contracted goods or services or for the costs related to those goods or services at December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Asset Retirement Obligations

The Corporation has recognized asset retirement obligations related to capping activities at landfill sites in the United States and for demolition and remediation activities at manufacturing sites in the United States and United Arab Emirates. The aggregate carrying amount of these asset retirement obligations was $17 million at December 31, 2020 ($14 million at December 31, 2019). The Corporation has also recognized conditional asset retirement obligations related to asbestos encapsulation as a result of planned demolition and remediation activities at manufacturing sites in the United States. The aggregate carrying amount of conditional asset retirement obligations was $2 million at December 31, 2020 ($2 million at December 31, 2019). The discount rate used to calculate the Corporation's asset retirement obligations and conditional asset retirement obligations was 0.42 percent at December 31, 2020 (2.12 percent at December 31, 2019). These obligations are included in the consolidated balance sheets as “Accrued and other current liabilities” and "Other noncurrent obligations."

The Corporation has not recognized conditional asset retirement obligations for which a fair value cannot be reasonably estimated in its consolidated financial statements. It is the opinion of management that the possibility is remote that such conditional asset retirement obligations, when estimable, will have a material impact on the Corporation's consolidated financial statements based on current costs.