Information by Segment and Geographic Area (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended										3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 segment	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment Customer	Dec. 31, 2012 Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment Customer	Dec. 31, 2011 Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment Customer	Dec. 31, 2012 Harsco Infrastructure [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Harsco Rail [Member] Customer	Dec. 31, 2012 Harsco Rail [Member] Customer	Dec. 31, 2011 Harsco Rail [Member] Customer	Dec. 31, 2011 Harsco Industrial [Member] Customer	Dec. 31, 2013 Harsco Industrial [Member] Customer	Dec. 31, 2012 Harsco Industrial [Member] Customer	Dec. 31, 2013 ArcelorMittal Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment	Dec. 31, 2012 ArcelorMittal Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment	Dec. 31, 2011 ArcelorMittal Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment	Dec. 31, 2013 Harsco Infrastructure [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Harsco Infrastructure [Member]	Sep. 15, 2013 Infrastructure Transaction Strategic Venture [Member] Harsco Infrastructure [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 2011/2012 Restructuring Program	Dec. 31, 2011 2011/2012 Restructuring Program	Dec. 31, 2012 2011/2012 Restructuring Program Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment		Dec. 31, 2011 2011/2012 Restructuring Program Harsco Metals & Minerals Segment		Dec. 31, 2012 2011/2012 Restructuring Program Harsco Infrastructure [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 2011/2012 Restructuring Program Harsco Infrastructure [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	4
Amount of entity-wide revenue from major customers														$ 268,600,000	$ 283,300,000	$ 361,900,000
Number of major customers				2	2	2		2	1	2	1,000	1	1,000
Number of contracts whose loss could have material impact, minimum				1
Loss on disposal of Harsco Infrastructure Segment	271,296,000	0	0														30,000,000	241,300,000
Goodwill impairment charge	0	265,038,000	0		0		265,038,000		0
Pre-tax restructuring charges																				$ 95,000,000	$ 101,000,000	$ 5,500,000	[1]	$ 12,800,000	[1]	$ 88,600,000	[1]	$ 87,600,000	[1]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage																			29.00%

[1] {F|ahBzfndlYmZpbGluZ3MtaHJkcmoLEgZYTUxEb2MiXlhCUkxEb2NHZW5JbmZvOmYwMzE0Y2Q0ZmNiYjQxM2M4NDcyNjBkY2I3M2ExMjZjfFRleHRTZWxlY3Rpb246OUVENzg1NTY2RTkwNTMwQUJENDhFM0I5QTQzNTE4QjcM}