Lens haze

[PaulC]

I've got an old Sirius zoom that I bought 30+ years ago for my Pentax (yes! I wanted crap photos with lots of CA!). I've been having a look at it and it is hazy.

When I light the interior obliquely and look at it through a strong magnifying lens I see a uniform speckly grey, like looking at ground glass, across the full width of one of the internal elements.

I'm curious: does this appearance fit with separation of cement in the elements or could it be fungus (I can see no sign of filaments or structures ... just very fine speckles).