Shalom Robert and thank you for your question!
I am sorry that it has taken so long to get back to you. I have tried to investigate your question regarding the metal pipes, but as yet have not been able to find any relevant information.
It is possible that it is true but I have not heard of such a practice.
What I can share with you though, is the primary importance in the Jewish religion of being buried in the Holy Land of Israel. Throughout the centuries there were Jews who made their way to the Holy Land to live, no matter which power was ruling in Israel, and it must be pointed out that there were those who made the dangerous and difficult trip centuries ago, in order to be able to live out their final years in the Holy Land, and have the privilege of being buried there.
The Patriarch Jacob requested of his offspring that they should transfer his remains from Egypt to the land of Israel when they would leave Egypt, and the same goes for his son Joseph. Abraham purchased a burial plot in Hebron at an exorbitant price for his wife Sarah. The Sages of the Talmud say that Jacob indeed paid his brother Esau all his money for the right to be buried in Israel, and that the Patriarchs in general set a precedent for the Jewish people, of self-sacrifice for being buried in Israel.
The great codifier Maimonides teaches that a reason for the above is that being buried in Israel helps the Jew receive atonement in the afterlife. Another great commentator teaches that just as one should pray to G-d for ALL his physical and spiritual needs, so should he or she pray to be buried Israel.
Nevertheless, having said all of the above, Judaism is a practical way of life which values human life as being of infinite importance, and the needs of a live human being must always be top priority. This includes especially the need to live a moral life, in accordance with G-d’s will as expressed in the 613 commandments of the Torah for Jewish people, (the 10 commandments are somewhat akin to chapter headings, but the Torah contains 613 commandments,) and the Seven Noahide laws for non-Jewish people. These include setting up courts of justice, not comitting adultery, incest, or idolatry, and not eating a part of an animal which is not yet dead.
So, however people have been buried, we must all search for ways to continue the work that has been done over the centuries, of rectifying the world and refining it so that it will be revealed as G-d’s garden, a place where the lion will rest near the lamb, and ‘Nation shall not lift sword against nation,’ as is carved on the wall of the UN building…
Much success in all of your positive endeavors!
