tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post7001359081069301050..comments2024-01-22T18:22:29.391-08:00Comments on hedera's corner: Popcornhederahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01696592301686568456noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-3525953176269710552007-09-08T06:49:00.000-07:002007-09-08T06:49:00.000-07:00This guy is a lab rat for the fact that diacetyl i...This guy is a lab rat for the fact that diacetyl is not harmless, albeit that it took heavy exposure to produce this health disorder, and I too do not think that the occasional bag of diacetyl-enhanced microwave popcorn will kill anyone. <BR/><BR/>But the larger issue, I think, is that diacetyl is just one more component in the toxic soup we breathe, although quite likely one of the lesser toxins (I might be using toxin too loosely here, since something that coats your lungs might not technically be a toxin). <BR/><BR/>Also, I am reminded that repeated low exposure to a toxin can be more harmful than much less frequent higher exposure. And there is also the problem that the cumulative effect of toxins is greater than their simple sum. So add one more harmless-by-itself-in-tiny-amounts wonder of modern chemistry to the toxic burden which is apparently still either poorly understood or just the worry of the paranoid fringe (kind of like global warming to James Inhofe and depleted uranium dust to the military).<BR/><BR/>I do like your advice, hedera, and real popcorn with real butter does taste better, although I have eaten my share of microwave popcorn. In future, I will make sure I don't have to breathe any diacetyl. I already avoid putting plastics in the microwave. <BR/><BR/>Anonymous "The Sky Really Is Falling" DavidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com