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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies
     Commitments. The Company has a variety of financial commitments, including purchase agreements, forward foreign exchange and forward sales contracts, indebtedness (and related Call Options and Warrants) and letters of credit (see Note 3 and Note 9).

Refer to Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 for information relating to minimum rental commitments under operating leases. There had been no material changes to such scheduled rental commitments as of September 30, 2013.
     Environmental Contingencies. The Company is subject to a number of environmental laws and regulations, to potential fines or penalties assessed for alleged breaches of the environmental laws and regulations, and to potential claims based upon such laws and regulations.

The Company has established procedures for regularly evaluating environmental loss contingencies. The Company’s environmental accruals represent the Company’s undiscounted estimate of costs reasonably expected to be incurred based on presently enacted laws and regulations, existing requirements, currently available facts, existing technology, and the Company’s assessment of the likely remediation actions to be taken.
During 2012, the Company submitted a final feasibility study, after public comment and agency review, to the Washington State Department of Ecology (“Washington State Ecology”) which included recommendations for remediation alternatives to primarily address the historical use of oils containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at the Company’s Trentwood facility in Spokane, Washington. During the third quarter of 2012, Washington State Ecology and the Company signed an amended work order allowing certain remediation activities to begin and to initiate a treatability study in regards to proposed PCB remediation methods. The Company continues to work with Washington State Ecology in developing the implementation work plans, which are subject to Washington State Ecology approval. The Company has begun implementation of certain approved sections of the work plan during the third quarter of 2013.
At September 30, 2013, the Company’s environmental accrual of $21.8 represented the Company’s estimate of the incremental cost based on proposed alternatives in the final feasibility study related to the Company’s Trentwood facility in Spokane, Washington and on investigational studies and other remediation activities occurring at the Company’s Newark, Ohio and certain other locations owned and formally owned by the Company. Once the remediation actions are approved, the Company expects the implementation could occur over a period of 30 years.
As additional facts are developed, feasibility studies are completed, draft remediation plans are modified, necessary regulatory approvals for the implementation of remediation are obtained, alternative technologies are developed, and/or other factors change, there may be revisions to management’s estimates, and actual costs may exceed the current environmental accruals. The Company believes at this time that it is reasonably possible that undiscounted costs associated with these environmental matters may exceed current accruals by amounts that could be, in the aggregate, up to an estimated $19.1 over the remediation period. It is reasonably possible that the Company’s recorded estimate may change in the next 12 months.
     Other Contingencies. The Company is party to various lawsuits, claims, investigations, and administrative proceedings that arise in connection with past and current operations. The Company evaluates such matters on a case-by-case basis, and its policy is to vigorously contest any such claims it believes are without merit. The Company accrues for a legal liability when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable. Quarterly, in addition to when changes in facts and circumstances require it, the Company reviews and adjusts these accruals to reflect the impacts of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel and other information, and events pertaining to a particular case. While uncertainties are inherent in the final outcome of such matters and it is presently impossible to determine the actual cost that may ultimately be incurred, management believes that it has sufficiently reserved for such matters and that the ultimate resolution of pending matters will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, operating results, or liquidity.