Los Angeles, CA- September 8, 2009 - MATECH Corp.
(OTC Bulletin Board: MTCH
- News)
- (MATECH) announced today that this past
weekend's closure of the Bay Bridge is another reminder that
neglect of our aging infrastructure poses a serious risk to
the safety and welfare of the American public.
In 1967, the Silver Bridge in Pt. Pleasant, WV collapsed due
to cracking in a critical eyebar. Similar cracking forced
the emergency closure of the Bay Bridge this weekend. Over
280,000 vehicles cross the landmark bridge every day.
.
After the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, Congress passed
the Transportation Equity Act, which mandated inspection of
U.S. bridges every other year by federal law. Likewise, after
the tragic collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minnesota in 2007,
Representative Oberstar, Chair of the Transportation Committee
in the House, authored the critical Bridge Safety Bill. The
Bill has since been incorporated into the reauthorization
of that historic Transportation Equity Act (now, SAFETEA-LU)
.
However, the Obama Administration with the support of California
Senator, Barbara Boxer, has delayed this critical legislation
another 18 months over Chairman Oberstar's objections. This
Act would vastly improve the inspection, maintenance and overall
condition of the failing infrastructure in this country. Now
that it has hit closer to home, perhaps Senator Boxer, who
chairs the Public Works Committee in the Senate, will acknowledge
the gravity and urgency of the situation, and reconsider her
position.
Given current federal regulations, inspections miss over 90%
of cracks and of the "cracks" they do identify,
over 80% prove later to be false positives, according to the
Federal Highway Administration. MATECH's EFS Technology is
a critical tool needed to detect growing cracks accurately
and verifying the efficacy of their repairs. This groundbreaking
technology is the key to not only avoid wasting critical repair
funds, but also to avoid a potential humanitarian disaster
as well.
Robert Bernstein, CEO of MATECH, stated: "The residents
of the Greater San Francisco area are lucky that the Bay Bridge
underwent construction this weekend, or else the crack which
forced the closure may have gone unnoticed. While the Obama
Administration and Senator Boxer may be comfortable with leaving
the public safety to chance, I doubt if Californians feel
the same way after this weekend."
About Matech Corp. (MTCH.OB)
MATECH Corp., formerly Material Technologies, Inc., was founded
in 1983 and is based in Los Angeles. It is an engineering,
research and development company that specializes in technologies
to measure microscopic fractures in metal structures and to
monitor metal fatigue. The Company has already completed significant
work for the federal government -- generating $8.3 million
to develop technology to detect metal fatigue in aircraft.
It has also received $5 million in private investments. Building
on that base, it is now marketing its technologies to companies
and government agencies involved in the inspection of metal
highway and railroad bridges..
Forward-Looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements.
Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "believe," "will," "breakthrough," "significant," "indicated," "feel," "revolutionary," "should," "ideal," "extremely" and "excited." These
statements are made under "Safe Harbor" provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual
results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking
statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
including, without limitation, the Company's recent Form 10-K
and Form 10-Qs, which identify specific factors that may cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those described
in the forward-looking statements.
Contact:
MATECH Corp.
T: 310-208-5589
Email
Contact
www.matechcorp.com
Stephen Taylor
Email
Contact
Press Inquiries:
Mike Graff
The Investor Relations Group
T: 212.825.3210
F: 212.825.322
Email
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