Chapter 11 Information (Details) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	24 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2003 claim	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($) trust claim	Dec. 23, 2010 occasion	Mar. 31, 2011	Mar. 02, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2005	Mar. 31, 2012 PI Trust USD ($) trust year	Mar. 31, 2012 PD Trust USD ($) payment claim account	Mar. 31, 2003 PD Trust claim	Mar. 31, 2012 PI and PD Trusts	Mar. 31, 2012 Sealed Air Corporation ("Sealed Air")	Mar. 31, 2012 Sealed Air Corporation ("Sealed Air") PI Trust	Mar. 31, 2012 Cryovac, Inc. ("Cryovac") USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Cryovac, Inc. ("Cryovac") PD Trust USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. PD Trust USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 Canada CAD	Dec. 31, 2009 Canada PD Trust claim	Oct. 31, 2008 United States (U.S.) PD Trust claim	Mar. 31, 2012 United States (U.S.) PD Trust claim
Chapter 11 information
Official parties to Chapter 11 cases			Three creditors' committees, two representing asbestos claimants, the Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants (the "PI Committee") and the Official Committee of Asbestos Property Damage Claimants (the "PD Committee"), and the third representing other unsecured creditors, and the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders (the "Equity Committee"), have been appointed in the Chapter 11 Cases.
ZAI property damage claim funds																		8,600,000
Asbestos trusts established under Bankruptcy Code			2					1
Number of occasions for which amendments and technical modifications were filed				9
Payments to fund Joint Plan														512,500,000		115,000,000
Interest rate related to cash received from the entity under joint plan funding (as a percent)								5.50%						5.50%
Number of common stock held in trust (in shares)													18
One-time payment to Libby claimants under the joint plan			19,500,000
Expense of one-time payment to Libby claimants under the joint plan after necessary court approval			19,500,000
Common stock split arrangement												Two-for-one
Proceeds under Joint plan funding								250,000,000	152,000,000
Number of warrants issued by entity to fund trust (in shares)								10
Exercise price of warrant (in dollars per share)								$ 17.00
Expiration period of warrant (in years)								1
Deferred payments per year for five years by the entity to the Trust								110,000,000
Deferred payments per year for ten years by the entity to the Trust								100,000,000
Percentage of outstanding common stock issued in the event of default											50.10%
Percentage of claimed amount qualified for ZAI PD claims																					55.00%
Maximum resolved amount per claim									7,500
Period on which inflation for each year is adjusted									fifth anniversary
Number of PD Trust accounts									2
ZAI initial payment															30,000,000		30,000,000
Cash payment by entity to the Trust on the third anniversary of the effective date of the joint plan																	30,000,000
Maximum number of deferred payments by the entity to the Trust									10
Deferred payments per year for twenty years by the entity to the Trust									8,000,000
Period of initialization of contingent deferred payments									fifth anniversary
Minimum assets fulfilling condition for payment of contingent obligation by the entity to the Trust									10,000,000
Interest rate on pre-petition bank credit facilities (as a percent)			3.25%		3.25%		6.09%
Compound interest rate on unsecured claims (as a percent)			4.19%
Post-petition interest sought by general unsecured creditors	140,000,000
Percentage of shareholders on whom restrictions may be imposed for transfer of common stock			5.00%
Maximum acquisition percentage of common stock			4.75%
Claims Filings
Number of claims filed		14,900							4,335										14,100		1,310
Number of bankruptcy claims filed prior to a specified date																				17,960
Number of pending claims, non-asbestos related		9,500							3,300	4,400
Number of pending claims, medical monitoring related		1,000
Number of claims filed after the bar date									800
Number of claims filed by employees or former employees			6,685
Number of claims filed by employees or former employees remaining pending			255
Number of remaining claims			120						20
Cash-collateralized letter of credit facility						100,000,000
Estimated fair value available under the settlement			1,305,000,000
Asbestos related settlement in cash																115,000,000
Asbestos related settlement in cash and stock														$ 1,190,000,000