A blast from the past: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/oct/14/antique-first-aid-kit-prompts-hazardous/

FAKs hazardous? Who'd a thunk that?

We had similar issues with picric acid in my country. Usually with old bottle's of picric acid left in school chemistry classes, left on the shelves untill somebody noticed the crystallized bottle of picric acid.

Is putting a potential explosive into a heavy, closed container the wisest of moves?

Given the small amount, probably fine. It would contain the blast, not act as a projectile.

I mean, this wasn't 10 gallons of the stuff, it was a some gauze pads saturated in it.

when we moved the chem lab to a new science wing we found a gallon of chloroform, case of cans of ethylene oxide (thermobaric explosive) for a sterilizer, yellowed hydrochloric acid (possibly perchloric) ethyl ether, and a variety of bottles with the labels missing....

where I once worked they found some kind of chemical in the lab that had crystallized. something with ether in it. don't recall what it was now.

a bomb guy was called in. he dug a hole out in the back yard and put the bottle in it and blew it up.