In April this year, employees of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Economics in Krakow (UEK), as part of the UEK membership in the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science – ERIHS, conducted research on historic phonogram records at the headquarters of Polish Radio in Warsaw.

The scientists from Kraków examined the state of preservation of the discs in terms of microbiology in order to determine whether the plates can be preserved and subjected to a reading test without a disinfection process, which may affect the properties of the disc material, making it impossible to read.

Dr Tomasz Sawoszczuk, UEK emphasized that the results indicate a slight microbiological contamination of the surface of the discs and therefore do not have to be disinfected.

The discs examined by the team from UEK are special objects of cultural heritage. They include the first appeals of Mayor Stefan Starzyński to the inhabitants of Warsaw, a speech by Minister Józef Beck or information for the inhabitants of Warsaw provided by Jeremi Przybora.