I don't know what "fuel inerting" is, but one line was eye catching when I looked up Flight 800 on Wikipedia.
There is a long and detailed report on the accident and the investigation, for anyone who doesn't mind facts interfering with their favorite conspiracy story.
In the very last part it talks about stricter standards for new airline fuel tanks; then says that when the 787 was made, Boeing admitted that it would not meet these standards, so the FAA lowered the standards.
I didn't research it further and am not at all sure about this.