Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies

NOTE 10 – Commitments and Contingencies

Certain processes in the manufacture of our current and past products create by-products classified as hazardous waste. We have been notified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state environmental agencies, and in some cases, groups of potentially responsible parties, that we may be potentially liable for environmental contamination at several sites currently and formerly owned or operated by us. Some sites, such as Asheville, North Carolina and Mountain View, California, are designated National Priorities List sites under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program. We accrue a liability for probable remediation activities, claims and proceedings against us with respect to environmental matters if the amount can be reasonably estimated, and provide disclosures including the nature of a loss whenever it is probable or reasonably possible that a potentially material loss may have occurred but cannot be estimated. We record contingent loss accruals on an undiscounted basis.

In the opinion of management, based upon presently available information relating to such matters, adequate provision for probable and estimable losses have been recorded. Due to the inherent nature of environmental obligations, we cannot provide assurance that our ultimate environmental liability will not materially exceed the amount of our accrued losses.

A roll-forward of remediation reserves included in accrued liabilities on the balance sheet is comprised of the following:

	As of
	June 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Balance at beginning of period	$	11,274		$	17,067
Remediation expense	276			1,182
Net remediation payments	(979		)	(6,967		)
Other activity (1)	(7		)	(8		)
Balance at end of the period	$	10,564		$	11,274

⁽¹⁾ Other activity includes currency translation adjustments not recorded through remediation expense.

Unrelated to the environmental claims described above, certain other claims are pending against us with respect to matters arising in the ordinary conduct of our business. Although the ultimate outcome of any potential litigation resulting from these claims cannot be predicted with certainty, and some may be disposed of unfavorably to us, we believe that adequate provision for probable and estimable costs have been established based upon all presently available information.

Except as noted herein, we do not believe we have any pending loss contingencies that are probable or reasonably possible of having a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. Our accrued liabilities and disclosures will be adjusted accordingly if additional information becomes available in the future.