This caption includes year-end 2004 and 2003 accruals for noncurrent compensation and benefits of $12,606 million and $10,380 million, respectively, and asset retirement obligations amounting to $791 million and $374 million, respectively. During 2004, we recorded asset retirement obligations of $381 million as a result of our acquisition of Amersham, accretion expense of $26 million and other adjustments of $10 million. Also included in this caption are amounts for deferred income, derivative instruments, interest on tax liabilities, product warranties, mandatorily redeemable preferred interest in VUE (see note 16), accrued participations and residuals and a variety of sundry items.
We are involved in numerous remediation actions to clean up hazardous wastes as required by federal and state laws. Liabilities for remediation costs at each site are based on our best estimate of undiscounted future costs, excluding possible insurance recoveries. When there appears to be a range of possible costs with equal likelihood, liabilities are based on the low end of such range. Uncertainties about the status of laws, regulations, technology and information related to individual sites make it difficult to develop a meaningful estimate of the reasonably possible aggregate environmental remediation exposure. However, even in the unlikely event that remediation costs amounted to the high end of the range of costs for each site, the resulting additional liability would not be material to our financial position, results of operations or liquidity.
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