About 95 per cent of factories at the North Industrial Area in Accra are putting the lives of their employees in grave danger as they do not have any safety measures in place to protect their employees from noise pollution, exposure to hazardous chemicals and lack of adequate ventilation and exit points in the wake of emergency. Besides, these factors do not have the requisite equipment to fight fires when they occur. The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Chief Disaster Control Officer in charge of fires at the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Isaac Mensah disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times newspaper in Accra last Friday. This was after he had led members to a joint taskforce of Police, Fire Service, Ghana Tourist Board and Environmental Protection Agency on a safety inspection tour of the New Times Corporation (NTC). Set up about a week ago, the taskforce pays unannounced visits to factories, industries and public organisations to identify disaster prone areas and to recommend appropriate steps to avert any eventuality. The team is to ensure that management of various organisations institute safety measures to ensure that their employees are protected at the workplace through the provision of protective clothing. Mr. Mensah said of all the premises of various factories, industries and companies the team had inspected since last Monday, almost all of them had failed in their safety requirements thus putting the lives of their staff in extreme danger. It was also discovered that the employees who had to work with chemicals had no protective gadgets such as hand gloves, nose masks or clothing to protect them from either extreme heat or cold. Mr. Mensah singled out Fan Milk Limited, as the only company among those so far visited in the area that had provided its staff with all that was needed for their safety and welfare. The team, according to him had been mandated to enter any public establishment unannounced and investigate whether safety measures had been put in place and make recommendations. If an organisation fails to implement the taskforce’s recommendations would apply the appropriate sanctions by enforcing the law, Mr. Mensah said. He said it was illegal for any company to fail to provide its workers with the required safety equipments.