Litigation, Claims and Contingencies (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

Reconciliation of Changes in Environmental Contingencies and Asset Retirement Obligations Reserve

The following table provides a reconciliation of the changes in the environmental remediation reserves during the six months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

	Six months ended
	March 31
(In millions)	2020			2019
Reserve - beginning of period	$	186		$	187
Disbursements		(19	)		(15	)
Revised obligation estimates and accretion		11			7
Reserve - end of period	$	178		$	179

Components of Environmental Remediation Expense

Components of environmental remediation expense included within the selling, general and administrative expense caption of the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss) are presented in the following table for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.

	Three months ended					Six months ended
	March 31					March 31
(In millions)	2020			2019		2020			2019
Environmental expense	$	8		$	3	$	10		$	6
Accretion		1			1		1			1
Legal expense		1			2		3			3
Total expense		10			6		14			10
Insurance receivable		(3	)		—		(3	)		(1	)
Total expense, net of receivable activity (a)	$	7		$	6	$	11		$	9

(a) Net expense of $2 million for the three and six months ended March 31, 2020, and $1 million and $2 million the three and six months ended March 31, 2019, respectively, relates to divested businesses which qualified for treatment as discontinued operations for which certain environmental liabilities were retained by Ashland. These amounts are classified within the income from discontinued operations caption of the Statements of Consolidated Comprehensive Income (loss).

Ashland [Member]

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

Summary of Asbestos Claims Activity

A summary of Ashland asbestos claims activity, excluding Hercules claims, follows.

	Six months ended
	March 31						Years ended September 30
(In thousands)	2020			2019			2019			2018			2017
Open claims - beginning of year		53			53			53			54			57
New claims filed		1			1			2			2			2
Claims settled		—			—			(1	)		(1	)		(1	)
Claims dismissed		(4	)		(1	)		(1	)		(2	)		(4	)
Open claims - end of period		50			53			53			53			54

Progression of Activity in Asbestos Reserve Accounts

A progression of activity in the asbestos reserve is presented in the following table.

	Six months ended
	March 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2020			2019			2019			2018			2017
Asbestos reserve - beginning of year	$	352		$	380		$	380		$	419		$	415
Reserve adjustment		—			—			1			(8	)		36
Amounts paid		(15	)		(14	)		(29	)		(31	)		(32	)
Asbestos reserve - end of period (a)	$	337		$	366		$	352		$	380		$	419

(a) Included $28 million classified in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of both March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019.

Progression of Insurance Receivable

A progression of activity in the Ashland insurance receivable is presented in the following table.

	Six months ended
	March 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2020			2019			2019			2018			2017
Insurance receivable - beginning of year	$	123		$	140		$	140		$	155		$	151
Receivable adjustment		—			—			(5	)		(5	)		15
Insurance settlement		(10	)		—			—			—			(5	)
Amounts collected		(4	)		(4	)		(12	)		(10	)		(6	)
Insurance receivable - end of period (a)	$	109		$	136		$	123		$	140		$	155

Included $13 million and $15 million classified in accounts receivable on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively

Hercules [Member]

Loss Contingencies [Line Items]

Summary of Asbestos Claims Activity

A summary of Hercules’ asbestos claims activity follows.

	Six months ended
	March 31					Years ended September 30
(In thousands)	2020		2019			2019			2018			2017
Open claims - beginning of year		13		13			13			12			15
New claims filed		—		—			1			2			1
Claims dismissed		—		(1	)		(1	)		(1	)		(4	)
Open claims - end of period		13		12			13			13			12

Progression of Activity in Asbestos Reserve Accounts

A progression of activity in the asbestos reserve is presented in the following table.

	Six months ended
	March 31						Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2020			2019			2019			2018			2017
Asbestos reserve - beginning of year	$	252		$	282		$	282		$	323		$	321
Reserve adjustments		—			—			(10	)		(19	)		16
Amounts paid		(10	)		(10	)		(20	)		(22	)		(14	)
Asbestos reserve - end of period (a)	$	242		$	272		$	252		$	282		$	323

(a) Included $21 million classified in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of both March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019.

Progression of Insurance Receivable

A progression of activity in the Hercules insurance receivable is presented in the following table.

	Six months ended
	March 31				Years ended September 30
(In millions)	2020		2019		2019			2018			2017
Insurance receivable - beginning of year	$	49	$	54	$	54		$	68		$	63
Receivable adjustment		—		—		(5	)		(14	)		5
Insurance receivable - end of period	$	49	$	54	$	49		$	54		$	68