BROOKSVILLE — The well-meaning donation of a bottle to the May-Stringer Museum resulted in the building being cordoned off because of a hazardous materials alert Friday.
The bottle donated by the daughter of a doctor who died about four years ago contained a substance called picric acid.
According to Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis, a call made from the museum to Fire Rescue and later to the Sheriff’s Office on Friday morning reported that last night someone donated some articles to the museum and in the morning when someone was looking through the articles, the glass bottle was found.
“It looks like an old-time pharmaceutical bottle that a doctor would use around the turn of the century in the early 1900s,” Nienhuis said.
The label said it was “Picric Acid,” which at the time was used for burns and as an “antiseptic and an analgesic,” apparently having some pain relieving qualities, he said.
It also is toxic, the sheriff said. The bottle had crystallized, “and when picric acid crystallizes, it apparently becomes an explosive and it’s actually used for explosives for wars, so it is very dangerous.”
There isn’t much of the substance in the bottle but they called the Citrus County Bomb Squad to come dispose of the bottle.
Deputies have talked to the woman who donated the bottle and she said he had it in a cabinet in his office, which was in another part of the state.
“She was donating these old medical items to the museum,” Nienhuis said.
It doesn’t appear to be a criminal act but the area around the museum was cordoned off, he said.
Scene outside
Deputies blocked off streets leading to the museum and were directing puzzled drivers away from the old house at 601 Museum Court.
Traffic was gridlocked for a time as the drivers of cars and trucks tried to find alternate routes through downtown Brooksville.
The area around the museum was filled with numerous emergency vehicles, including one from Citrus County.
A message was left for someone at the May-Stringer Museum seeking comment.
What is ‘picric acid’?
According to Wikipedia, picric acid is an organic compound. The name “picric” comes from Greek, “pikros,” meaning “bitter,” due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other strongly nitrated organic compounds, picric acid is an explosive, which is its primary use. It has also been used as medicine (antiseptic, burn treatments) and as a dye.