BACKGROUND The occupational exposure to inhalation anaesthetics in operating rooms, and its effect on hospital staff, have been widely discussed. The first national survey, published in Poland several years ago, revealed worrying levels of contamination, especially in hospitals with poorly equipped operating rooms. The purpose of this recent survey was to assess contamination of the operating room air under various conditions. METHODS The survey questionnaire was sent to 484 hospitals, of different levels of referral, in Poland between October 2006 and January 2007. The questions in the questionnaire referred to anaesthetic techniques, technical infrastructures of operating rooms, and quality of anaesthetic equipment. RESULTS Two hundred and seventy surveys were returned (55.8%), providing information about 1280 operating rooms.They revealed a major deficit in essential infrastructures and anaesthetic equipment in operating rooms, especially in regional hospitals. In addition, an important human factor was revealed, with many anaesthesiologists found to be using out-dated, air polluting methods of anaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS Operating room air contamination with inhalation anaesthetics still poses a major risk in Polish hospitals, because of poor infrastructure and lack of modern anaesthetic equipment. The risk factors are related to the hospital referral level, but not to their geographic location.