Commitments and Contingencies - Respirator and Environmental (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) defendant	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) individual	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) facility	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) lawsuit	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) claim	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) plan	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 item
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation
Loss contingencies
Total number of named claimants								2,320		2,230
Number of years company has been the defendant in Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation	20 years
Number of total claims the Company prevailed after being taken to trial					2	14
Number of total claims taken to trial | claim						15
Number of total claims dismissed | claim						1
Increase in liabilities | $									$ 141,000,000
Payments for fees and settlements related to litigation | $									76,000,000
Insurance receivables | $	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 4,000,000	4,000,000
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation | State court of California
Loss contingencies
Number of total claims the Company prevailed after being taken to trial | lawsuit					1
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation | State court of Kentucky
Loss contingencies
Number of unnamed defendant | individual			2
Litigation settlement awarded | $									2,000,000
Amount of punitive damages awarded | $									63,000,000
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation - State of West Virginia
Loss contingencies
Number of additional defendants	2
Accrued loss contingency reserve | $	$ 0	0	$ 0	0	$ 0	0	0	0	0
Respirator Mask/Asbestos litigation - Excluding Aearo Technologies
Loss contingencies
Accrued loss contingency reserve | $	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000	673,000,000
Increase in liabilities | $									65,000,000
Respirator Mask/Asbestos Litigation - Aearo Technologies
Loss contingencies
Accrued loss contingency reserve | $	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000	28,000,000
Quarterly fee paid to Cabot to retain responsibility and liability for products manufactured before July 11, 1995 | $									100,000
Environmental Matters - Remediation
Loss contingencies
Accrued loss contingency reserve | $	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000	25,000,000
Insurance receivables | $	$ 8,000,000	$ 8,000,000	$ 8,000,000	8,000,000	8,000,000	8,000,000	$ 8,000,000	$ 8,000,000	8,000,000
Number of years remediation payments expected to be paid for applicable sites	20 years
Environmental Matters - Regulatory Activities
Loss contingencies
Number of years after phase-out decision in May 2000 that the Company stopped manufacturing and using vast majority of perfluorooctanyl compounds	2 years
Amount of PFOA and PFOS found in drinking water, either individually or combined, that are allowed per the EPA's announced lifetime health advisory levels in parts per trillion								70
Amount of PFOA in drinking water allowed per provisional health advisories in parts per trillion (superseded)								400
Amount of PFOS in drinking water allowed per provisional health advisories in parts per trillion (superseded)								200
Number of EPA announced plans Regarding PFAS | plan							4
Number compounds EPA asked for public comment on draft toxicity assessments for PFAS compounds, including PFBS								2
Number of public water supplies the EPA reported results								4,920
Number of water supplies that reported above advisory level with PFOA								13
Number of water supplies that reported above advisory level with PFOS								46
Number of water supplies that reported above advisory level with both PFOA and PFOS under technical advisory issued by EPA in September 2016								65
Environmental Matters - Regulatory Activities | Minimum
Loss contingencies
Number of PFCs the EPA has required to have public water system suppliers monitor								6
Number of water supply samples used to test for PFOA and PFOS under the EPA lifetime health advisory program								1
Environmental Matters - Regulatory Activities | Alabama
Loss contingencies
Number of years covered by permit for sludge containing PFCs	20 years
Environmental Matters - Regulatory Activities | Minnesota Department of Health
Loss contingencies
Amount of PFOA in drinking water allowed per Minnesota Department of Health in parts per trillion								35
Amount of PFOS in drinking water allowed per Minnesota Department of Health in parts per trillion								27
Amount of PFBS in drinking water allowed per Minnesota Department of Health in parts per billion								2
Environmental Matters - Litigation
Loss contingencies
Number of local water works for whom the water authority supplies water								5
Environmental Matters - Litigation | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Loss contingencies
Number of unnamed defendant | defendant		3
Environmental Matters - Litigation | Alabama | Minimum
Loss contingencies
Total number of named claimants | individual			200
Environmental Matters - Litigation | Morgan County, Alabama
Loss contingencies
Total number of named claimants | individual			3
Environmental Matters - Litigation | Minnesota
Loss contingencies
Litigation settlement awarded | $									897,000,000
Settlement amount paid as grant | $									850,000,000
Amount the State's damages expert contended that the State incurred in damages | $	$ 5,000,000,000	$ 5,000,000,000	$ 5,000,000,000	5,000,000,000	5,000,000,000	5,000,000,000	$ 5,000,000,000	$ 5,000,000,000	5,000,000,000
Environmental Matters - Other Environmental Litigation
Loss contingencies
Accrued loss contingency reserve | $	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	$ 59,000,000	59,000,000
Number of former disposal sites with PFC present in soil and groundwater in Washington County, Minnesota								2
Environmental Matters - Other Environmental Litigation | Maximum
Loss contingencies
Number of years remediation payments expected to be paid for applicable sites	4 years
Environmental Matters - Other Environmental Litigation | U.S. District Court of New York State
Loss contingencies
Number of lawsuits filed | lawsuit					22
Number of class action lawsuits | lawsuit					1
Environmental Matters - Other Environmental Litigation | New Jersey
Loss contingencies
Approximate number of miles of a river seeking to be cleaned								8
The value the award the plaintiff seeks | $									$ 165,000,000
Number of chemicals of concern in the sediment								8
Number of commercial drum conditioning facilities | facility				2
Environmental Matters - Other Environmental Litigation | New Jersey | Minimum
Loss contingencies
Number of unnamed defendant | defendant		120
Environmental Matters - Aqueous Film Forming Foam Litigation
Loss contingencies
Number of putative class action and other lawsuits | lawsuit					85
Environmental Matters - Aqueous Film Forming Foam Litigation | U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)
Loss contingencies
Number of lawsuits filed | lawsuit					85
Environmental Matters - Other PFAS-related Environmental Litigation | Alabama
Loss contingencies
Number of putative class action and other lawsuits | lawsuit					2
Environmental Matters - Other PFAS-related Environmental Litigation | Delaware
Loss contingencies
Number of putative class action and other lawsuits | lawsuit					1
Environmental Matters - Other PFAS-related Environmental Litigation | Maine
Loss contingencies
Number of unnamed defendant | individual			1
Environmental Matters - Other PFAS-related Environmental Litigation | New Jersey
Loss contingencies
Number of unnamed defendant | lawsuit					1
Environmental Matters - Other PFAS-related Environmental Litigation | Michigan
Loss contingencies
Total number of named claimants | individual			214
Number of class action lawsuits | lawsuit					2