Danaher 2011 Annual Report Download - page 15

Table of Contents
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We face comprehensive government regulation both within and outside the United States relating to the development, manufacture, sale and distribution of our
products and services. The following sections describe certain significant regulations that we are subject to. These are not the only regulations that our
businesses must comply with. For a description of the risks related to the regulations that our businesses are subject to, please refer to “Item 1A. Risk
Factors.”
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Our operations, products and services are subject to environmental laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate, which impose limitations
on the discharge of pollutants into the environment and establish standards for the use, generation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and non-
hazardous wastes. A number of our operations involve the handling, manufacturing, use or sale of substances that are or could be classified as hazardous
materials within the meaning of applicable laws. We must also comply with various health and safety regulations in both the United States and abroad in
connection with our operations. Compliance with these laws and regulations has not had and, based on current information and the applicable laws and
regulations currently in effect, is not expected to have a material effect on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position, and we do not anticipate
material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities. For a discussion of risks related to compliance with environmental and health and safety
laws, please refer to “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
In addition to environmental compliance costs, we from time to time incur costs related to alleged damages associated with past or current waste disposal
practices or other hazardous materials handling practices. For example, generators of hazardous substances found in disposal sites at which environmental
problems are alleged to exist, as well as the current and former owners of those sites and certain other classes of persons, are subject to claims brought by state
and federal regulatory agencies pursuant to statutory authority. We have received notification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and from state
and non-U.S. environmental agencies, that conditions at certain sites where we and others previously disposed of hazardous wastes and/or are or were property
owners require clean-up and other possible remedial action, including sites where we have been identified as a potentially responsible party under U.S. federal
and state environmental laws. We have projects underway at a number of current and former facilities, in both the United States and abroad, to investigate and
remediate environmental contamination resulting from past operations. Remediation activities generally relate to soil and/or groundwater contamination and
may include pre-remedial activities such as fact-finding and investigation, risk assessment, feasibility study, and/or design, as well as remediation actions
such as contaminant removal, monitoring and/or installation, operation and maintenance of longer-term remediation systems. We are also from time to time
party to personal injury or other claims brought by private parties alleging injury due to the presence of or exposure to hazardous substances.
We have made a provision for environmental investigation and remediation and environmental-related claims with respect to sites owned or formerly owned by
the Company and its subsidiaries and third-party sites where we have been determined to be a potentially responsible party. We generally make an assessment
of the costs involved for our remediation efforts based on environmental studies, as well as our prior experience with similar sites. The ultimate cost of site
cleanup is difficult to predict given the uncertainties of our involvement in certain sites, uncertainties regarding the extent of the required cleanup, the
availability of alternative cleanup methods, variations in the interpretation of applicable laws and regulations, the possibility of insurance recoveries with
respect to certain sites and the fact that imposition of joint and several liability with right of contribution is possible under the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 and other environmental laws and regulations. If we determine that potential liability for a particular site or
with respect to a personal injury claim is probable and reasonably estimable, we accrue the total estimated loss, including investigation and remediation costs,
associated with the site or claim. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a reserve of $141 million for environmental matters which are probable and
reasonably estimable (of which $92 million are non-current), which reflects the Company’s best estimate of the costs to be incurred with respect to such
matters. Please see Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about our environmental reserves.
All provisions have been recorded without giving effect to any possible future third party recoveries. While we actively pursue insurance recoveries, as well as
recoveries from other potentially responsible parties, we do not recognize any insurance recoveries for environmental liability claims until realized or until such
time as a sustained pattern of collections is established related to historical matters of a similar nature and magnitude.
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Source: DANAHER CORP /DE/, 10-K, February 24, 2012 Powered by Morningstar® Document Research℠
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