The Mosgiel explosion that badly injured two teenagers "huffing" from an LPG bottle has sparked an urgent chief coroner's inquiry into the wider issue of solvent sniffing.
Chief coroner Neil Maclean announced on Wednesday he would look at the issue after admitting he was surprised at the number of deaths over last decade or so.
Mosgiel's Brendon McLeod, 17, and Jamie Jury, 18, face years of burns treatment after the LPG bottle they were sniffing from, and the heater it was attached to, exploded on Monday.
The incident was a catalyst for Mr Maclean to look at the wider issue of solvent sniffing after discovering there had been more than 30 deaths since 2001, mainly of teenage boys.
His review would "not be a major federal investigation" but he would look at both deaths from explosions and people being poisoned by the gases and draw on coronial reports from here, Australia and the UK, he told NZ Newswire.
Mr Maclean said he would look at ideas such as sales restrictions on gas, warning labels, or even putting nasty smelling chemicals in gas to deter sniffers.
In March, Wellington coroner Garry Evans urged the Government to look at ways of limiting young people's access to solvents such as butane, following the death of Wainuiomata 16-year-old Nikora Mikaere Birch, who was found dead on the banks of a stream in 2010.
However, his recommendation to the Ministry of Youth Affairs did not garner much response.
Mr Maclean said Mr Evans' recommendation elicited a response from the Ministry of Youth Affairs that they were doing a lot on the issue.
However, Mr Maclean said he did not know what they actually meant by that.
He said his review would see if a pattern was developing and if there was a bigger picture people needed to look at.
He hoped it could be worked in with the Child and Youth Mortality Review.
NZN