COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details)			3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	21 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Legal and Administrative Proceedings USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Legal and Administrative Proceedings USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Ville Mercier USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Ville Mercier CAD	Dec. 31, 1999 Ville Mercier Municipalities	Dec. 31, 1968 Ville Mercier Permits	Dec. 31, 2011 Ville Mercier USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2006 Deer Trail, Colorado Facility Lawsuits	Sep. 30, 2012 Superfund Proceedings Sites	Dec. 31, 2002 Superfund Proceedings Sites	May 31, 2006 Superfund Proceedings Sites	May 31, 2007 Casmalia Site Sites	Sep. 30, 2012 Marine Shale Site USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Marine Shale Site USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Certain Other Third Party Sites USD ($) Sites	Sep. 30, 2012 Federal and State Enforcement Actions USD ($) Proceedings	Dec. 31, 2011 Federal and State Enforcement Actions USD ($) Proceedings	Dec. 31, 2010 Other Contingencies USD ($)
Legal and Administrative Proceedings
Reserves relating to legal and administrative proceedings	$ 30,200,000	$ 30,300,000	$ 27,400,000															$ 2,800,000
Possible increase in legal and administrative proceedings			2,700,000	2,700,000
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
Damages claimed by municipalities					1,600,000
Suit against alleged past costs						17,400,000
Accrued remedial liabilities	130,612,000	135,320,000			14,200,000				13,300,000
Number of lawsuits filed										2
Superfund Proceedings
Number of sites subject to proceedings under federal or state superfund laws											68
Number of sites owned by the entity subject to proceedings under federal or state superfund laws											2
Number of sites owned by third parties subject to proceedings under federal or state Superfund laws												66
Third party sites arising out of acquisition of assets												35
Third party sites requiring expenditure on remediation											7
Number of sites for which environmental remediation expense is settled											13
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
Third party sites where EPA requested information on prior owner														1
Remaining reserves relating to listed third party sites															4,000,000	3,800,000
Indemnification agreement with third party sites																	15
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																		3	4
Sanctions relating to waste treatment																		100,000	100,000
Other Contingencies
Payment to acquire minority interest in a privately-held company																				10,500,000
Proceeds from irrevocable call right exercised by the privately-held company on shares held																				10,500,000
Prepaid Expense and Other Assets, Current																				$ 10,500,000