<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xbrl
  xml:lang="en-US"
  xmlns="http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance"
  xmlns:dei="http://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2020-01-31"
  xmlns:link="http://www.xbrl.org/2003/linkbase"
  xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
    <link:schemaRef xlink:href="oln-20201217.xsd" xlink:type="simple"/>
    <context id="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217">
        <entity>
            <identifier scheme="http://www.sec.gov/CIK">0000074303</identifier>
        </entity>
        <period>
            <startDate>2020-12-17</startDate>
            <endDate>2020-12-17</endDate>
        </period>
    </context>
    <dei:EntityCentralIndexKey
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml80L2ZyYWc6NDBiMzQxZmMzM2ZhNDQxMGIzMDA0MmUwODVhMjJhNWIvdGFibGU6MTA2ZGVjOTdhYWY2NGFmZGIzZTlmNzAwYTcwOGVkY2QvdGFibGVyYW5nZToxMDZkZWM5N2FhZjY0YWZkYjNlOWY3MDBhNzA4ZWRjZF8yLTEtMS0xLTA_2dcfb5f4-565c-4c0d-b5fe-2abd0d58e9b6">0000074303</dei:EntityCentralIndexKey>
    <dei:AmendmentFlag
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml80L2ZyYWc6NDBiMzQxZmMzM2ZhNDQxMGIzMDA0MmUwODVhMjJhNWIvdGFibGU6MTA2ZGVjOTdhYWY2NGFmZGIzZTlmNzAwYTcwOGVkY2QvdGFibGVyYW5nZToxMDZkZWM5N2FhZjY0YWZkYjNlOWY3MDBhNzA4ZWRjZF8zLTEtMS0xLTA_f1925b0b-d9df-4a78-8d54-48231cdafbd7">false</dei:AmendmentFlag>
    <dei:DocumentType
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGV4dHJlZ2lvbjo3MzJkNjk5NDAyZTg0MjI5ODVkMWQ2MTM5OTMwMmJmZF80NDU_25b21d65-88ad-426b-ada4-f8e01fc6eac0">8-K</dei:DocumentType>
    <dei:DocumentPeriodEndDate
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGV4dHJlZ2lvbjo3MzJkNjk5NDAyZTg0MjI5ODVkMWQ2MTM5OTMwMmJmZF8yMTk5MDIzMjU2MDIx_e8066aa6-c0d7-41ba-916a-9084cf03e53c">2020-12-17</dei:DocumentPeriodEndDate>
    <dei:EntityRegistrantName
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGV4dHJlZ2lvbjo3MzJkNjk5NDAyZTg0MjI5ODVkMWQ2MTM5OTMwMmJmZF80NDY_aaeb999a-3b8c-442a-82ca-da44aa502a98">OLIN CORPORATION</dei:EntityRegistrantName>
    <dei:EntityIncorporationStateCountryCode
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6NTA3MjQ5YTNiNGM4NDdmMGE3MzJiMDM0YjM4Y2E0NWUvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo1MDcyNDlhM2I0Yzg0N2YwYTczMmIwMzRiMzhjYTQ1ZV8wLTAtMS0xLTA_f806f407-c659-4157-929e-0b0a24219f58">VA</dei:EntityIncorporationStateCountryCode>
    <dei:EntityFileNumber
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6NTA3MjQ5YTNiNGM4NDdmMGE3MzJiMDM0YjM4Y2E0NWUvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo1MDcyNDlhM2I0Yzg0N2YwYTczMmIwMzRiMzhjYTQ1ZV8wLTEtMS0xLTA_ea6079df-467d-4604-855e-e5ac009a0ae6">1-1070</dei:EntityFileNumber>
    <dei:EntityTaxIdentificationNumber
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6NTA3MjQ5YTNiNGM4NDdmMGE3MzJiMDM0YjM4Y2E0NWUvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo1MDcyNDlhM2I0Yzg0N2YwYTczMmIwMzRiMzhjYTQ1ZV8wLTItMS0xLTA_d7cc42da-729f-4a66-acc6-f50c825619c9">13-1872319</dei:EntityTaxIdentificationNumber>
    <dei:EntityAddressAddressLine1
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6OTI5M2ZlYmIwNGNjNDE4YWFhNDgwNTFlOTZmOGE1ZGMvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo5MjkzZmViYjA0Y2M0MThhYWE0ODA1MWU5NmY4YTVkY18wLTAtMS0xLTA_6cf9ff08-ce39-4b74-8c0a-7bba4e88a5d9">190 Carondelet Plaza,</dei:EntityAddressAddressLine1>
    <dei:EntityAddressAddressLine2
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6OTI5M2ZlYmIwNGNjNDE4YWFhNDgwNTFlOTZmOGE1ZGMvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo5MjkzZmViYjA0Y2M0MThhYWE0ODA1MWU5NmY4YTVkY18wLTEtMS0xLTA_fb72fead-ce51-4904-95e7-8850ca24f059">Suite 1530</dei:EntityAddressAddressLine2>
    <dei:EntityAddressCityOrTown
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6OTI5M2ZlYmIwNGNjNDE4YWFhNDgwNTFlOTZmOGE1ZGMvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo5MjkzZmViYjA0Y2M0MThhYWE0ODA1MWU5NmY4YTVkY18wLTItMS0xLTA_3993c50a-cba3-45b2-8b8a-5be2709ebced">Clayton,</dei:EntityAddressCityOrTown>
    <dei:EntityAddressStateOrProvince
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6OTI5M2ZlYmIwNGNjNDE4YWFhNDgwNTFlOTZmOGE1ZGMvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo5MjkzZmViYjA0Y2M0MThhYWE0ODA1MWU5NmY4YTVkY18wLTMtMS0xLTA_880742bc-6a3e-49ed-9f2b-d0a929dbbf7f">MO</dei:EntityAddressStateOrProvince>
    <dei:EntityAddressPostalZipCode
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6OTI5M2ZlYmIwNGNjNDE4YWFhNDgwNTFlOTZmOGE1ZGMvdGFibGVyYW5nZTo5MjkzZmViYjA0Y2M0MThhYWE0ODA1MWU5NmY4YTVkY18wLTQtMS0xLTA_236b68c9-0d21-424e-88cb-a8c7411386bc">63105</dei:EntityAddressPostalZipCode>
    <dei:CityAreaCode
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGV4dHJlZ2lvbjo3MzJkNjk5NDAyZTg0MjI5ODVkMWQ2MTM5OTMwMmJmZF80NDc_247164bb-ac05-491f-8cec-16e239cee33b">314</dei:CityAreaCode>
    <dei:LocalPhoneNumber
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGV4dHJlZ2lvbjo3MzJkNjk5NDAyZTg0MjI5ODVkMWQ2MTM5OTMwMmJmZF80NDQ_2c89f776-c84e-4c37-bdd6-31385e04eb96">480-1400</dei:LocalPhoneNumber>
    <dei:WrittenCommunications
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl8yLTAtMS0xLTA_5f704450-c15b-48f1-b1a5-eff77dd611dc">false</dei:WrittenCommunications>
    <dei:SolicitingMaterial
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl80LTAtMS0xLTA_d60bf84e-5a0a-473b-bd48-cce94b2b5cf4">false</dei:SolicitingMaterial>
    <dei:PreCommencementTenderOffer
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl82LTAtMS0xLTA_0f889aec-832e-4181-8954-a939526458db">false</dei:PreCommencementTenderOffer>
    <dei:PreCommencementIssuerTenderOffer
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl84LTAtMS0xLTA_3f54972d-499a-4347-a2b3-2877d58cd070">false</dei:PreCommencementIssuerTenderOffer>
    <dei:Security12bTitle
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl8xMi0wLTEtMS0w_9a2918e5-7eec-42c4-ba19-044d8af23e31">Common Stock, $1.00 par value per share</dei:Security12bTitle>
    <dei:TradingSymbol
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl8xMi0zLTEtMS0w_2c10829e-493e-43ed-aea1-91d865115d89">OLN</dei:TradingSymbol>
    <dei:SecurityExchangeName
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl8xMi00LTEtMS0w_a09a572b-c4f7-4e38-ba31-277dc9f58ef5">NYSE</dei:SecurityExchangeName>
    <dei:EntityEmergingGrowthCompany
      contextRef="i4f6c7455117c41a3bd47605093c5b662_D20201217-20201217"
      id="id3VybDovL2RvY3MudjEvZG9jOjZlMjVkOTlkMTY3MjQ1NGZiYjZiZGZlOWYzZTZkZTQyL3NlYzo2ZTI1ZDk5ZDE2NzI0NTRmYmI2YmRmZTlmM2U2ZGU0Ml8xL2ZyYWc6NzMyZDY5OTQwMmU4NDIyOTg1ZDFkNjEzOTkzMDJiZmQvdGFibGU6MzBkM2ZmYjcwNTEyNDQwOWI1NDYzMmUyNjhjZTNkM2YvdGFibGVyYW5nZTozMGQzZmZiNzA1MTI0NDA5YjU0NjMyZTI2OGNlM2QzZl8xNi0wLTEtMS0w_c2b5cf07-e073-4881-a917-4e18090a6f4a">false</dei:EntityEmergingGrowthCompany>
</xbrl>
