‘Forever Chemicals’ Legacy Weighs on Chemours’ Future

Investors are increasingly worried that The Chemours Co. may face an unsustainable burden of environmental liabilities from a class of chemicals found in groundwater aquifers and other sites across the country.

Estimates of Chemours’ liabilities related to the chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, range from the company’s figure of up to $802 million, to one analyst’s calculation of more than $160 billion—more than 15 times the company’s highest-ever market capitalization.

Investors, regulators, and the public will get a better sense Nov. 4 of how big Chemours thinks its problems are, when the company releases ...