Third Coal Mine Manager Pleads Guilty to Cheating in Dust Sampling

Another Kentucky coal company manager has pleaded guilty to rigging dust sampling procedures in mines in order to hide the extent of dangerous conditions that could trigger federal penalties. Steve DeMoss, who was a foreman and safety director for Armstrong Coal, agreed that he had helped to submit misleadingly low coal dust readings to mine regulators, according to a news report and his plea agreement in federal court. The sampling deception, which miners in the case have said is widespread, involved pulling air pumps off of miners before the end of a scheduled dust-sampling period and sign...