Sound Shore

A deteriorating bottle from the 1940s caused the evacuation of Betsy Brown Road homes for several hours Monday, but whether it contained an explosive acid will never be known.

The bottle was found in a restricted crawl space in the basement of 116 Betsy Brown Road by the homeowner who bought the house about two years ago, police said.

Because of the appearance of the quart-sized bottle’s contents, crystallized but moist, and a rusted cap, there was a concern that it was picric acid which becomes unstable and explosive when it crystallizes, said Bruce Devaney, vice president of Environmental Services Incorporated in South Windsor, Conn.

The label on the bottle was too deteriorated to read, he said. Devaney figured the bottle had been there since the 1940s based on the date of old papers in the crawl space.

Police shut down Betsy Brown Road completely and evacuated the homes on either side and in front of and behind 116, for 3 1/2 hours at 11 a.m. then again at 4:30 p.m. for the removal of the bottle by Devaney.

Devaney said his company opened the bottle remotely in a solution that neutralizes any explosive crystals.

“When we opened it, we destroyed it,” Devaney said.

The state Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health, Westchester County Bomb Squad, and Port Chester police and fire departments were on the scene.