Liabilities for Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Notes)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Liabilities of Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation [Abstract]

Liabilities for Dispositions and Discontinued Operations [Text Block]

10. LIABILITIES FOR DISPOSITIONS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

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

	March 31,			December 31,
	2012			2011
Balance, beginning of period	$	90,824		$	93,160
Expenditures charged to liabilities	(1,711		)	(9,209		)
Increase to liabilities	12			6,873
Balance, end of period	89,125			90,824
Less: Current portion	(9,931		)	(9,931		)
Non-current portion	$	79,194		$	80,893

The Company is exposed to the risk of reasonably possible additional losses in excess of the established liabilities. As of March 31, 2012, this amount could range up to $29 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.

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 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.