His single observation is hardly scientific proof that such containers are automatically evildoers. As Ron mentioned, did Borneman (or more likely one of his lab assistants) rinse out the Brute prior to use? As a former lab rat myself I can tell you that simple things like this can easily get missed when you're a unpaid schlub who just pulled an all night cram job for a midterm.
Further, using "food grade" containers is no guarantee either. The whole bisphenol A issue was such a big deal because it was being used on numerous "food grade" containers for years.
I'm now on the lookout for a 55 gallon Pyrex cylinder, BTW
