Note 10 Legal, Environmental and Other Contingencies

The Company is regularly involved in litigation, both as a plaintiff and as a defendant, relating to its business and operations, including environmental, commercial, employment and federal and/or state Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administrative actions. Future expenditures for environmental, employment, intellectual property and other legal matters cannot be determined with any degree of certainty; however, based on the facts presently known, management does not believe that such costs will have a material effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Company is currently, and has in the past been, subject to claims involving personal injuries allegedly relating to its products and processes. For example, the Company is presently involved in two actions involving welding rod-related injuries, which were filed in California state court against numerous manufacturers, including the Company, in May 2006 and February 2007, respectively, alleging that the welding-related products of the defendant manufacturers harmed the users of such products through the inhalation of welding fumes containing manganese. The Company (together with a number of other manufacturer defendants) is also involved in three actions alleging that asbestos in its facilities harmed the plaintiffs. The Company believes that it has defenses to these allegations and that, if the Company were to be found liable, the cases would not have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

The Company has received permits from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, or IDEM, to close and to provide post-closure monitoring and care for certain areas at the Kokomo facility previously used for the storage and disposal of wastes, some of which are classified as hazardous under applicable regulations. Closure certification was received in fiscal 1988 for the South Landfill at the Kokomo facility, and post-closure monitoring and care is ongoing there. Closure certification was received in fiscal 1999 for the North Landfill at the Kokomo facility, and post-closure monitoring and care are permitted and ongoing there. In fiscal 2007, IDEM issued a single post-closure permit applicable to both the North and South Landfills, which contains monitoring and post-closure care requirements. In addition, IDEM required that a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, Facility Investigation, or RFI and which was renewed in 2012, be conducted in order to further evaluate one additional area of concern and one additional solid waste management unit. The RFI commenced in fiscal 2008 and is ongoing. The Company believes that some additional testing is necessary.

The Company has also received permits from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or NCDENR, to close and provide post-closure monitoring and care for the hazardous waste lagoon at its Mountain Home, North Carolina facility. The lagoon area has been closed and is currently undergoing post-closure monitoring and care. The Company is required to monitor groundwater and to continue post-closure maintenance of the former disposal areas at each site. As a result, the Company is aware of elevated levels of certain contaminants in the groundwater, and additional corrective action by the Company could be required.

On August 3, 2012, the Company received an information request from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, relating to the Company’s compliance with laws relating to air quality. The Company has responded to the request, and there has been no further action by the EPA.

As of September 30, 2015, the Company has accrued $749 for post-closure monitoring and maintenance activities, of which $662 is included in long-term obligations as it is not due within one year. Accruals for these costs are calculated by estimating the cost to monitor and maintain each post-closure site and multiplying that amount by the number of years remaining in the post-closure monitoring.

Expected maturities of post-closure monitoring and maintenance activities (discounted) included in long-term obligations are as follows at September 30, 2015.


2016	$	—
2017		73
2018		77
2019		58
2020		49
2021 and thereafter		405
	$	662