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This series of the Courier-Journal "exposed lax state enforcement of mine-safety violations." The reporter found that the Kentucky mining board "rarely used its full authority to revoke or suspend companies' mining licenses and miners' certifications," when hearings were held on mine-safety cases. The series focused also on the failure of the board to formally review "nearly 100 cases since 1990 in which Kentucky coal companies and/or supervisors were convicted of federal mine-safety violations." The investigation exposed cases of falsified tests detecting coal-dust levels, improper handling of explosives, illegal smoking underground and falsified safety training documents.