Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Contingencies [Abstract]

Contingencies

Contingencies

The Company is a defendant in various lawsuits and a party to various other legal proceedings, in the ordinary course of business, some of which are covered in whole or in part by insurance. We believe that the outcome of these lawsuits and other proceedings will not individually or in the aggregate have a future material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Environmental

New Idria Mercury Mine

Effective October 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) added the New Idria Mercury Mine site located near Hollister, California to the Superfund National Priorities List because of alleged contaminants discharged to California waterways. The New Idria Quicksilver Mining Company, founded in 1936, owned and operated the New Idria Mine through 1972. In 1981, New Idria was merged into Buckhorn Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Myers Industries in 1987. The EPA contends that past mining operations have resulted in mercury contamination and acid mine drainage in the San Carlos Creek, Silver Creek and a portion of Panoche Creek and that other downstream locations may also be impacted.

Since Buckhorn Inc. may be a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) of the New Idria Mercury Mine, the Company recognized $1.9 million, undiscounted, during the three months ended September 30, 2011, in general and administrative expenses related to performing a remedial investigation and feasibility study to determine the extent of remediation, if any, and the screening of alternatives. The Company’s environmental liabilities are included in other long-term liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. As investigation and remediation proceed, it is possible that adjustments to the liability will be necessary to reflect new information. Estimates of the Company’s liability are based on current facts, laws, regulations and technology. Estimates of the Company’s environmental liabilities are further subject to uncertainties regarding the nature and extent of site contamination, the range of remediation alternatives available, evolving remediation standards, imprecise engineering evaluation and cost estimates, the extent of corrective actions that may be required and the number and financial condition of other PRPs, as well as the extent of their responsibility for the remediation, and the availability of insurance coverage for these expenses. At this time, further remediation cost estimates are not known and have not been prepared.

In November 2011 the EPA completed an interim removal project at the New Idria Mercury Mine site. It is expected this removal action will be part of the final remediation plan for this site. The EPA’s interim removal project costs are unknown at this time. It is possible that at some future date the EPA will seek recovery of the costs of this work from PRPs.

California Regional Water Quality Control Board

In October 2008, the Company and its subsidiary, Buckhorn Inc., along with a number of other parties were identified in a planning document adopted by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region (“RWQCB”). The planning document relates to the presence of mercury, including amounts contained in mining wastes, in and around the Guadalupe River Watershed (“Watershed”) region in Santa Clara County, California. Buckhorn has been alleged to be a successor in interest to an entity that performed mining operations in a portion of the Watershed area. The Company has not been contacted by the RWQCB with respect to Watershed clean-up efforts that may result from the adoption of this planning document. The extent of the mining wastes that may be the subject of future cleanup has yet to be determined, and the actions of the RWQCB have not yet advanced to the stage where a reasonable estimate of remediation cost, if any, can be determined. Although assertion of a claim by the RWQCB is reasonably possible, it is not possible at this time to estimate the amount of any obligation the Company may incur for these cleanup efforts within the Watershed region, or whether such cost would be material to the Company’s financial statements.

Other

In October 2009, an employee was fatally wounded while performing maintenance at the Company’s manufacturing facility in Springfield, Missouri. On February 22, 2011, the family of the deceased filed a civil complaint against the manufacturer of the press involved in the incident and the Buckhorn Inc. employee involved in the incident. Buckhorn Inc. has not been named as a party to this lawsuit. At this time the Company is not able to determine whether this proceeding or the incident will result in legal exposure to the Company, or if any such liability that results would be material to the Company’s financial statements. The Company believes that it has adequate insurance to resolve any claims resulting from this incident.

When management believes that a loss arising from these matters is probable and can reasonably be estimated, we record the amount of the estimated loss, or the minimum estimated liability when the loss is estimated using a range, and no point within the range is more probable of occurrence than another. As additional information becomes available, any potential liability related to these matters will be assessed and the estimates will be revised, if necessary.

Based on current available information, management believes that the ultimate outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows or overall trends in our results of operations. However, these matters are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could occur. If an unfavorable ruling were to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on the financial position and results of operations of the period in which the ruling occurs, or in future periods.