Litigation, Claims and Contingencies (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

Reconciliation of Changes in Environmental Contingencies and Asset Retirement Obligations Reserve

The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in the environmental remediation reserves during the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

	Three months ended
	December 31
(In millions)	2023			2022
Reserve - beginning of period	$	214		$	211
Disbursements		(11	)		(13	)
Revised obligation estimates and accretion		4			8
Reserve - end of period	$	207		$	206

Components of Environmental Remediation Expense

Components of environmental remediation expense included within the selling, general and administrative expense caption of the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss) are presented in the following table for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

	Three months ended
	December 31
(In millions)	2023			2022
Environmental expense	$	4		$	8
Legal expense		1			1
Total expense		5			9
Insurance receivable		(1	)		—
Total expense, net of receivable activity(a)	$	4		$	9

(a)Net expense of $1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022 relates to divested businesses which qualified for treatment as discontinued operations for which certain environmental liabilities were retained by Ashland. These amounts are classified within the loss from discontinued operations caption of the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Ashland [Member]

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

Summary of Asbestos Claims Activity

A summary of Ashland asbestos claims activity, excluding Hercules claims, follows.

	Three months ended
	December 31						Years ended September 30
(In thousands)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2021
Open claims - beginning of year		42			44			44			46			49
New claims filed		1			1			2			2			2
Claims settled		—			—			(1	)		(1	)		(1	)
Claims dismissed		(1	)		(1	)		(3	)		(3	)		(4	)
Open claims - end of period		42			44			42			44			46

Progression of Activity in Asbestos Reserve Accounts

A progression of activity in the asbestos reserve is presented in the following table.

	Three months ended
	December 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2021
Asbestos reserve - beginning of year	$	281		$	305		$	305		$	320		$	335
Reserve adjustment		—			—			9			16			12
Amounts paid		(10	)		(13	)		(33	)		(31	)		(27	)
Asbestos reserve - end of period(a)	$	271		$	292		$	281		$	305		$	320

(a)Included $28 million classified in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023.

Progression of Insurance Receivable

A progression of activity in the Ashland insurance receivable is presented in the following table.

	Three months ended
	December 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2021
Insurance receivable - beginning of year	$	95		$	101		$	101		$	100		$	103
Receivable adjustment(a)		—			—			3			7			6
Amounts collected		(2	)		(2	)		(9	)		(6	)		(9	)
Insurance receivable - end of period(b)	$	93		$	99		$	95		$	101		$	100

(a)2021 includes a $2 million reserve adjustment related to allowances for credit losses as a result of Ashland's adoption of the credit measurement standard. The total allowance for credit losses was $1 million as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023.

(b)Includes $11 million classified in accounts receivable on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023.

Hercules [Member]

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

Summary of Asbestos Claims Activity

A summary of Hercules’ asbestos claims activity follows.

	Three months ended
	December 31				Years ended September 30
(In thousands)	2023		2022		2023		2022			2021
Open claims - beginning of year		12		11		11		12			12
New claims filed		—		—		1		1			1
Claims dismissed		—		—		—		(2	)		(1	)
Open claims - end of period		12		11		12		11			12

Progression of Activity in Asbestos Reserve Accounts

A progression of activity in the asbestos reserve is presented in the following table.

	Three months ended
	December 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2021
Asbestos reserve - beginning of year	$	191		$	213		$	213		$	217		$	229
Reserve adjustments		—			—			(2	)		15			8
Amounts paid		(5	)		(4	)		(20	)		(19	)		(20	)
Asbestos reserve - end of period(a)	$	186		$	209		$	191		$	213		$	217

(a)Included $17 million classified in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023.

Progression of Insurance Receivable

A progression of activity in the Hercules insurance receivable is presented in the following table.

	Three months ended
	December 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2023			2022			2023			2022			2021
Insurance receivable - beginning of year	$	47		$	52		$	52		$	47		$	47
Receivable adjustment(a)		—			—			(3	)		7			1
Amounts collected		(1	)		(1	)		(2	)		(2	)		(1	)
Insurance receivable - end of period(b)	$	46		$	51		$	47		$	52		$	47

(a)2021 includes a $1 million reserve adjustment related to allowances for credit losses as a result of Ashland's adoption of the credit measurement standard. The total allowance for credit losses was $1 million as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023.

(b)Includes $4 million classified in accounts receivable on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023.