XML 32 R20.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.24.1.u1

Commitments and Contingent Liabilities | 3 Months Ended
--- | ---
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities | Commitments and Contingent Liabilities PPG is involved in a number of lawsuits and claims, both actual and potential, including some that it has asserted against others, in which substantial monetary damages are sought. These lawsuits and claims may relate to contract, patent, environmental, product liability, antitrust, employment and other matters arising out of the conduct of PPG’s current and past business activities. To the extent that these lawsuits and claims involve personal injury, property damage and certain other claims, PPG believes it has adequate insurance; however, certain of PPG’s insurers are contesting coverage with respect to some of these claims, and certain insurers may contest coverage with respect to claims in the future. PPG’s lawsuits and claims against others include claims against insurers and other third parties with respect to actual and contingent losses related to environmental, asbestos and other matters. The results of any current or future litigation and claims are inherently unpredictable. However, management believes that, in the aggregate, the outcome of all lawsuits and claims involving PPG will not have a material effect on PPG’s consolidated financial position or liquidity; however, such outcome may be material to the results of operations of any particular period in which costs, if any, are recognized. Asbestos Matters As of March 31, 2024, the Company was aware of certain asbestos-related claims pending against the Company and certain of its subsidiaries. The Company is defending these asbestos-related claims vigorously. The asbestos-related claims consist of claims against the Company alleging: •exposure to asbestos or asbestos-containing products manufactured, sold or distributed by the Company or its subsidiaries (“Products Claims”); •personal injury caused by asbestos on premises presently or formerly owned, leased or occupied by the Company (“Premises Claims”); and •asbestos-related claims against a subsidiary the Company acquired in 2013 (“Subsidiary Claims”). The Company monitors and reviews the activity associated with its asbestos claims and evaluates, on a periodic basis, its estimated liability for such claims and all underlying assumptions to determine whether any adjustment to the reserves for these claims is required. Additionally, as a supplement to its periodic monitoring and review, the Company conducts discussions with counsel and engages valuation consultants to analyze its claims history and estimate the amount of the Company’s potential liability for asbestos-related claims. As of both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company's asbestos-related reserves totaled $48 million. The Company believes that, based on presently available information, the total reserves of $48 million for asbestos-related claims will be sufficient to encompass all of the Company’s current and estimable potential future asbestos liabilities. These reserves, which are included within Other liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, involve significant management judgment and represent the Company’s current best estimate of its liability for these claims. The amount reserved for asbestos-related claims by its nature is subject to many uncertainties that may change over time, including (i) the ultimate number of claims filed; (ii) whether closed, dismissed or dormant claims are reinstituted, reinstated or revived; (iii) the amounts required to resolve both currently known and future unknown claims; (iv) the amount of insurance, if any, available to cover such claims; (v) the unpredictable aspects of the tort system, including a changing trial docket and the jurisdictions in which trials are scheduled; (vi) the outcome of any trials, including potential judgments or jury verdicts; (vii) the lack of specific information in many cases concerning exposure for which the Company is allegedly responsible, and the claimants’ alleged diseases resulting from such exposure; and (viii) potential changes in applicable federal and/or state tort liability law. All of these factors may have a material effect upon future asbestos-related liability estimates. While the ultimate outcome of the Company’s asbestos litigation cannot be predicted with certainty, the Company believes that any financial exposure resulting from its asbestos-related claims will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations. Environmental Matters In management’s opinion, the Company operates in an environmentally sound manner and the outcome of the Company’s environmental contingencies will not have a material effect on PPG’s financial position or liquidity; however, any such outcome may be material to the results of operations of any particular period in which costs, if any, are recognized. Management anticipates that the resolution of the Company’s environmental contingencies will occur over an extended period of time. As remediation at certain environmental sites progresses, PPG continues to refine its assumptions underlying the estimates of the expected future costs of its remediation programs. PPG’s ongoing evaluation may result in additional charges against income to adjust the reserves for these sites. In 2024 and 2023, certain charges have been recorded based on updated estimates to increase existing reserves for these sites. Certain other charges related to environmental remediation actions are expensed as incurred. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, PPG had reserves for environmental contingencies associated with PPG’s former chromium manufacturing plant in Jersey City, New Jersey (“New Jersey Chrome”), glass and chemical manufacturing sites, and for other environmental contingencies, including current manufacturing locations and National Priority List sites. These reserves are reported as Accounts payable and accrued liabilities and Other liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet.
Environmental Reserves
($ in millions) | March 31, 2024 |  | December 31, 2023
New Jersey Chrome | $50 |  |  | $53 |
Glass and chemical | 53 |  |  | 54 |
Other | 117 |  |  | 120 |
Total environmental reserves | $220 |  |  | $227 |
Current portion | $45 |  |  | $52 |
Pretax charges against income for environmental remediation costs are included in Other charges/(income), net in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of income. The pretax charges and cash outlays related to such environmental remediation for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31 |  |
($ in millions) | 2024 |  | 2023 |  |  |  |
Environmental remediation pretax charges | $3 |  |  | $3 |  |  |  |  |
Cash outlays for environmental remediation activities | $8 |  |  | $9 |  |  |  |  |
Remediation: New Jersey Chrome In June 2009, PPG entered into a settlement agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) and Jersey City, New Jersey (which had asserted claims against PPG for lost tax revenue) which was in the form of a Partial Consent Judgment (the "Consent"). Under the Consent, PPG accepted sole responsibility for the remediation activities at its former chromium manufacturing location in Jersey City and a number of additional surrounding sites. Remediation of the New Jersey Chrome sites requires PPG to remediate soil and groundwater contaminated by hexavalent chromium, as well as perform certain other environmental remediation activities. The most significant assumptions underlying the estimate of remediation costs for all New Jersey Chrome sites relate to the extent and concentration of chromium in the soil. PPG regularly evaluates the assessments of costs incurred to date versus current progress and the potential cost impacts of the most recent information, including the extent of impacted soils and groundwater, and engineering, administrative and other associated costs. Based on these assessments, the reserve is adjusted accordingly. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, PPG's reserve for remediation of all New Jersey Chrome sites was $50 million and $53 million, respectively. The major cost components of this liability are related to excavation of impacted soil, as well as groundwater remediation. These components each account for approximately 65% and 10% of the amount accrued at March 31, 2024, respectively. There are multiple, future events yet to occur, including further remedy selection and design, remedy implementation and execution and applicable governmental agency or community organization approvals. Considerable uncertainty exists regarding the timing of these future events for the New Jersey Chrome sites. Further resolution of these events is expected to occur over the next several years. As these events occur and to the extent that the cost estimates of the environmental remediation remedies change, the existing reserve for this environmental remediation matter will continue to be adjusted. Remediation: Glass, Chemicals and Other Sites Among other sites at which PPG is managing environmental liabilities, remedial actions are occurring at a chemical manufacturing site in Barberton, Ohio where PPG has completed a Facility Investigation and Corrective Measure Study under the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action Program. PPG has also been addressing the impacts from a legacy plate glass manufacturing site in Kokomo, Indiana under the Voluntary Remediation Program of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and a site associated with a legacy plate glass manufacturing site near Ford City, Pennsylvania under the Pennsylvania Land Recycling Program under the oversight of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. PPG is currently performing additional investigation and remedial activities at these locations. With respect to certain other waste sites, the financial condition of other potentially responsible parties also contributes to the uncertainty of estimating PPG’s final costs. Although contributors of waste to sites involving other potentially responsible parties may face governmental agency assertions of joint and several liability, in general, final allocations of costs are made based on the relative contributions of wastes to such sites. PPG is generally not a major contributor to such sites. Remediation: Reasonably Possible Matters In addition to the amounts currently reserved for environmental remediation, the Company may be subject to loss contingencies related to environmental matters estimated to be as much as $100 million to $200 million. Such unreserved losses are reasonably possible but are not currently considered to be probable of occurrence. These reasonably possible unreserved losses relate to environmental matters at a number of sites, none of which are individually significant. The loss contingencies related to these sites include significant unresolved issues such as the nature and extent of contamination at these sites and the methods that may have to be employed to remediate them. The impact of evolving programs, such as natural resource damage claims, industrial site re-use initiatives and domestic and international remediation programs, also adds to the present uncertainties with regard to the ultimate resolution of this unreserved exposure to future loss. The Company’s assessment of the potential impact of these environmental contingencies is subject to considerable uncertainty due to the complex, ongoing and evolving process of investigation and remediation, if necessary, of such environmental contingencies, and the potential for technological and regulatory developments.

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 440 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (a) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482648/440-10-50-4 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Topic 450 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//450/tableOfContent Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 954 -SubTopic 440 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (a) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147480327/954-440-50-1 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 440 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (c) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482648/440-10-50-4 Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Topic 440 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//440/tableOfContent + Details
Name: | us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration