Chapter 11 Information (Details) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	25 Months Ended					9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2003 claim	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) claim trust	Dec. 31, 2010 occasion	Jun. 11, 2012 item	Sep. 30, 2011	Mar. 02, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2005	Sep. 30, 2012 PI Trust USD ($) trust	Sep. 30, 2012 PD Trust USD ($) claim account payment	Mar. 31, 2003 PD Trust claim	Sep. 30, 2012 PI and PD Trusts	Sep. 30, 2012 Cryovac, Inc. ("Cryovac") USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Cryovac, Inc. ("Cryovac") PD Trust USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Sealed Air Corporation ("Sealed Air")	Sep. 30, 2012 Sealed Air Corporation ("Sealed Air") PI Trust	Sep. 30, 2012 Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. PD Trust USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Canada CAD	Dec. 31, 2009 Canada PD Trust claim	Oct. 31, 2008 United States (U.S.) PD Trust claim	Sep. 30, 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
Common stock split arrangement															2
One-time payment to Libby claimants under the joint plan			19,600,000
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									1 year
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 after which inflation for each year is adjusted										5 years
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										5 years
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%
Warrant value settlement period after the effective date of the Joint Plan			1 year
Number of shares issuable under the warrant			10
Aggregate exercise price of the warrant			170,000,000
Closing price of common stock under condition 1 (in dollars per share)			$ 54.50
Repurchase price of warrant under condition 1			375,000,000
Closing price of common stock under condition 2 (in dollars per share)			$ 66.00
Repurchase price of warrant under condition 2			490,000,000
Period for change in control of the entity			1 year
Claims Filings
Number of claims filed		14,900								4,335										14,100
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			170
Number of remaining claims			115							20
Number of bankruptcy claims filed prior to a specified date																					17,960
Number of additional bankruptcy claims filed																						1,310
Cash-collateralized letter of credit facility							100,000,000
Estimated fair value available under the settlement			1,259,000,000
Asbestos related settlement in cash																	115,000,000
Asbestos related settlement in cash and stock													$ 1,144,000,000
Number of claims expunged, reclassified by debtors or withdrawn by claimants					8
Number of pending claims			5