Liabilities for Dispositions and Discontinued Operations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Liabilities of Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation [Abstract]

Environmental Loss Contingency Disclosure [Text Block]

10. LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

An analysis of the liabilities for dispositions and discontinued operations follows:

	September 30,			December 31,
	2011			2010
Balance, beginning of period	$	93,160		$	98,591
Expenditures charged to liabilities	(6,915		)	(8,632		)
Increase to liabilities	58			3,201
Balance, end of period	86,303			93,160
Less: Current portion	(11,090		)	(11,500		)
Non-current portion	$	75,213		$	81,660

The Company is exposed to the risk of reasonably possible additional losses in excess of the established liabilities. As of September 30, 2011, this amount could range up to $40 million, allocable over several of the applicable sites, and arises from uncertainty over the availability, feasibility or effectiveness of certain remediation technologies, additional or different contamination that may be discovered, development of new or more effective environmental remediation technologies and the exercise of discretion in interpretation of applicable law and regulations by governmental agencies.

Subject to the factors described in Note 14 - Liabilities for Dispositions and Discontinued Operations in the 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company believes established liabilities are sufficient for costs expected to be incurred over the next 20 years with respect to its dispositions and discontinued operations. Remedial actions for these sites vary, but include, among others, on-site (and in certain cases off-site) removal or treatment of contaminated soils and sediments, recovery and treatment/remediation of groundwater, and source remediation and/or control.