http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezer_burn

Seems that BNS and others are saying what they used to call base
oxidation isn't that at all. Not sure if they state what they think it
is, and some have theorized that it's not even a bad thing.

Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY