Mystery Remains over 60-Yr-Old Gas Cylinder Buried in Tokyo

   Tokyo, June 2 (Jiji Press)--A gas cylinder found in the ground after an explosion last week at a construction site in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, which left 10 people slightly injured, was engraved with numbers indicating that it had passed an inspection about 60 years ago.
   With the site said to have been a paved parking lot for about 40 years, an expert says that the gas cylinder "may have been illegally dumped a long time ago."
   The explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday last week. Acetylene gas, used for welding and cutting metals, leaked from the ground and ignited when a pipe was driven in to reinforce the ground for new housing construction. Ten people, including workers and local residents, sustained minor injuries, and walls were damaged on 38 buildings within a 120-meter radius.
   Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department found a gas cylinder about 100 centimeters long, buried about 50 centimeters deep. An imprint indicated it passed inspection in November 1964 and may have been underground for decades. With the cylinder having a 6-centimeter hole in its central section, the MPD believes that a spark ignited the gas leaking from the cylinder damaged during excavation work at the site.
   Acetylene gas, used mainly at construction sites and factories, is flammable. Japan's high pressure gas safety law requires the gas to be stored in well-ventilated areas at temperatures below 40 degrees Celsius.

(2025/06/02-15:43)

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