GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Public Museum had to close suddenly Wednesday morning after old and potentially unstable drugs were found inside an exhibit.
Members of the musuem's collections team identified several pharmaceutical drugs in the Rudell Drug Store display within the Streets of Old Grand Rapids exhibit. The drugs tend to become unstable over time, per a museum spokesperson.
The drugs were nitroglycerin pills and picric acid-laced bandages. Nitroglycerin has medical applications associated with heart conditions and is still used today, per the museum. Picric Acid was used to cover burns, but is no longer used medically.
The bills and bandages were displayed in secured glass cases inside a climate-controlled environment.
We asked for more clarification from a local pharmacist because inquiring minds might find misleading information about these substances, especially nitroglycerin which has explosive applications.
"So nitroglycerin is TNT. That's the N in TNT. And so in certain quantities and in certain densities and percentages, it's explosive," Mike Koelzer, the pharmacist at Kay Pharmacy, explained. "But the stuff that you put under your tongue, for that to go benign, for that to be unstable, it just means it's not going to work as well."
The Rudell Drug Store is a recreation of a real pharmacy from Sault Ste. Marie. Open in the early 20th century, Rudell sold these and other compounds.
The pharmaceuticals were noted during a curatorial review of the exhibit. Museum staffs routinely reviews items in the exhibits, as well as update its safety protocols.
To ensure safe removal of the drugs, the museum closed and contacted the city's public safety departments to assist.
The museum is set to re-open Thursday, June 26 at 9 a.m.
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