Jaycor Cleans Up With $20 Million Defense Contract

Local defense contractor Jaycor has secured a five-year, $20 million contract for environmental cleanup of U.S. Army bases nationwide.

Primarily a high-tech firm specializing in military systems survivability, Jaycor enters a new market with this contract, the toxic and hazardous waste management arena, said Vernon A. Blackman, company president and chief executive officer.

"We're putting more and more effort into this field," he said. "It's a growing marketplace."

The Army is undertaking a massive remediation project of toxic dump sites, which often date back to World War II, at Army installations nationwide, said Liz Sergeant, deputy public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

"Federal law says we must do this," she said of the cleanup. "Due to past practice, we have...