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Schedule II | 12 Months Ended
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Jan. 31, 2012
Schedule II [Abstract] |
Schedule of Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Disclosure [Text Block] | Schedule II MFRI, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS For the Years Ended January 31, 2012 and 2011
| Balance at beginning of period |  | Charged to costs and expenses |  | Deductions from reserves (1) |  | Charged to other accounts (2) |  | Balance at end of period |
Year Ended January 31, 2012 |  |  |  |  |
Allowance for possible losses in collection of trade receivables | 346 |  | 63 |  | 20 |  | (154 | ) | 235 |
Year Ended January 31, 2011 |  |  |  |  |
Allowance for possible losses in collection of trade receivables | $379 | $86 | $212 | $93 | $346
(1) Uncollectible accounts charged off (2) Primarily related to recoveries from accounts previously charged off and currency translation

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- Definition The entire disclosure for any allowance and reserve accounts (their beginning and ending balances, as well as a reconciliation by type of activity during the period). Alternatively, disclosure of the required information may be within the footnotes to the financial statements or a supplemental schedule to the financial statements. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 09 -Article 12 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6881521&loc=d3e24092-122690 + Details
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