Long-Term Debt (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended					9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			9 Months Ended														12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Unsecured Debt [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Unsecured Debt [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Construction Borrowings Related To Foreign Plant [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Construction Borrowings Related To Foreign Plant [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Construction Borrowings Related To Foreign Plant [Member] Minimum [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Construction Borrowings Related To Foreign Plant [Member] Maximum [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Capital Lease Obligations [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Capital Lease Obligations [Member] Joint Venture Jordan Bromine Company Limited [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line Of Credit Previous Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line Of Credit Previous Credit Facility [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Line Of Credit Previous Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Line Of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line Of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 Line Of Credit [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Line Of Credit [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 September 2011 Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Senior Notes Maturing On December 15, 2020 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Domestic Financial Institution Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Domestic Financial Institution Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Domestic Financial Institution Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Euro Denominated Credit Lines [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Euro Denominated Credit Lines [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Credit Line U.S. Dollar- Euro Denominated Borrowings [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Yen Denominated Credit Lines [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Yen Denominated Credit Lines [Member] JPY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2010 Yen Denominated Credit Lines [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Foreign Credit Lines [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Other Foreign Credit Lines [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Foreign Credit Lines [Member] Foreign Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 5.10% Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 5.10% Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2011 4.50% Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 4.50% Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 4.50% Senior Notes [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 4.50% Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility, prior borrowing capacity													$ 675,000,000			$ 675,000,000
Revolving credit facility maturity date																				September 22, 2016
Revolving credit facility, restated borrowing capacity																750,000,000
Revolving senior credit facility, additional borrowings																250,000,000	250,000,000
Revolving senior credit facility, remaining borrowings																	750,000,000
Borrowings outstanding under the credit facility																							0	0	92,200,000	70,000,000				8,200,000	50,300,000	38,500,000
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt, 2012		14,400,000
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt, 2013		12,700,000
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt, 2014		6,000,000
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt, 2015		327,100,000
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt, 2016		50,400,000
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt after 2016		356,000,000
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity																						60,000,000				70,000,000	48,000,000	57,700,000	4,500,000,000		97,200,000		83,200,000
Fees and expenses related to new agreement																2,700,000
Total spreads and fees														0.32%	0.675%		0.975%	0.90%	1.40%
Debt covenant		20.00%
Average interest rate on borrowings																						1.43%	1.44%		1.30%	1.30%		1.07%	1.07%	1.19%	6.10%	4.90%
Interest rate of debt									4.28%	7.12%	5.50%	5.50%									4.50%													5.10%	5.10%		4.50%	4.50%	4.50%
Interest rate of debt, effective percentage																																			5.19%		4.70%		4.70%
Maturity date of debt							Apr. 01, 2015				Jul. 01, 2012																							Dec. 15, 2020				Feb. 01, 2015
Principal amount of debt																																			325,000,000		350,000,000		350,000,000
Percentage of public offering																																							99.101%
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes	346,853,000																																						346,900,000
Repayment of fund pension obligations																																				50,000,000	50,000,000		100,000,000
Foreign currency denominated debt	860,910,000	763,673,000	40,800,000	46,200,000			18,800,000	23,800,000
Capitalized lease obligation of plant equipment	5,873,000	2,006,000									2,000,000	5,900,000
Additional borrowing capacity amount			23,000,000
Non-interest loan from other shareholders					$ 6,000,000	$ 6,000,000