Property and Business Interruption Insurance Claims (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Insurance claim receivable	$ 20,000,000
Property and Business Interruption Insurance Claims (Textual) [Abstract]
Waiting period for business interruption coverage	30 days
Deductible amount for business interruption insurance coverage in dollars	1,000,000
Deferred gain on property insurance recovery	1,613,000
Chemical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Insurance claim recoverable costs	18,400,000
Insurance claim receivable	$ 20,000,000

Deductible amount for business interruption insurance coverage in dollars.

No definition available.

Name:	lxu_DeductibleAmountForBusinessInterruptionInsuranceCoverageInDollars
Namespace Prefix:	lxu_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

Amount of gain contingency relating to an insurance recovery that was deferred as of the balance sheet date.

No definition available.

Name:	lxu_DeferredGainOnInsuranceRecovery
Namespace Prefix:	lxu_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

The amount of recoverable costs included in an insurance claim.

No definition available.

Name:	lxu_InsuranceClaimRecoverableCosts
Namespace Prefix:	lxu_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

Amounts due for claims covered under insurance policies and to be paid by our insurance companies.

No definition available.

Name:	lxu_InsuranceClaimsReceivable
Namespace Prefix:	lxu_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

Name:	lxu_PropertyAndBusinessInterruptionInsuranceClaimsTextualAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	lxu_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Waiting period for filing claim for business interruption insurance coverage.

No definition available.

Name:	lxu_WaitingPeriodForFilingClaimForBusinessInterruptionInsuranceCoverage
Namespace Prefix:	lxu_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Name:	us-gaap_SegmentReportingInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration