This is the study, commissioned by the U.S. Navy, that started it all:
Henderson, N.C., W.E. Berry, R.J. Eiber, and D.W. Frink, Final Report on Phase I Investigation of Scuba Cylinder Corrosion, report prepared for the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Diving, Naval Ship Systems Command, by the Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio, September 1970, 118pp.
http://www.stormingmedia.us/51/5182/0518217.html
In the late 1960s a gelatinous corrosion product was found in a number of U.S. Navy aluminum scuba cylinders at a facility in Maryland. Concerned, the Navy inspected at total 1,336 aluminum cylinders. The inspection revealed that 16% of the cylinders were corroded, many with severe corrosion. Did cylinder corrosion degrade cylinder strength? The U.S. Navy consulted the Battelle Memorial Institute to investigate this, and other, questions about scuba cylinders.
From the study abstract: "Recommendations were formulated concerning changes in manufacturing specifications, cleaning procedures, and inspection procedures to provide increased assurance that corrosion will not progress to the point of significantly degrading the rupture strength of aluminum scuba cylinders."
