COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details)	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended			21 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2002 Sites	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Legal and Administrative Proceedings USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Legal and Administrative Proceedings USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Ville Mercier CAD Municipalities	Dec. 31, 1999 Ville Mercier Municipalities	Dec. 31, 1968 Ville Mercier Permits	Dec. 31, 2011 Ville Mercier USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Ville Mercier USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2006 Deer Trail, Colorado Facility Lawsuits	Dec. 31, 2011 Superfund Proceedings Sites	Dec. 31, 2002 Superfund Proceedings Sites	May 31, 2006 Superfund Proceedings Sites	Dec. 31, 2002 Wichita Property A	May 31, 2007 Casmalia Site Sites	Dec. 31, 2011 Marine Shale Site USD ($) Sites	Dec. 31, 2011 Certain Other Third Party Sites USD ($) Sites	Dec. 31, 2011 Federal and State Enforcement Actions USD ($) Proceedings
Legal and Administrative Proceedings
Loss Contingency Accrual, at Carrying Value	$ 30,300,000		$ 29,700,000		$ 26,700,000
Possible increase in legal and administrative proceedings					2,700,000	2,800,000
Reserves relating to legal and administrative proceedings																				3,600,000
Number of permits issued by government, for dumping organic liquid									2
Number of neighboring municipalities filing separate legal proceedings against the Mercier Subsidiary and the Government of Quebec								3
Number of municipalities filing separate legal proceedings, total							4
Damages claimed by municipalities							1,600,000
Suit against alleged past costs							17,400,000
Accrued remedial liabilities	135,320,000		137,613,000	145,486,000	26,700,000					13,300,000	13,500,000
Number of lawsuits filed												2
Superfund Proceedings
Number of sites subject to proceedings under federal or state superfund laws													65
Number of sites owned by the entity subject to proceedings under federal or state superfund laws	65												2
Number of sites owned by third parties subject to proceedings under federal or state Superfund laws		2												63
Third party sites arising out of acquisition of assets	35													35
Third party sites requiring expenditure on remediation													10
Number of sites for which environmental remediation expense is settled													10
Number of sites for which environmental remediation expense is not required													15
Third party sites requiring expenditure on remediation being contested by the entity													1
Number of sites owned by third party excluded from cleanup or related liabilities													2					1
State-designated superfund site acquired, total acres																1,400
Third party sites where EPA requested information on prior owner																	1
Remaining reserves relating to listed third party sites																		3,800,000
Indemnification agreement with third party sites																			14
Additional cleanup liabilities, maximum																			100,000
Notices received from owners of third party sites seeking indemnification from the company															5
Federal and State Enforcement Actions
Number of proceedings relating to waste treatment																				4
Sanctions relating to waste treatment																				$ 100,000