The current state-of-the-art of passive sampling and/or extraction methods for long-term monitoring of pollutants in different environmental compartments is discussed in this review. Passive dosimeters that have been successfully used to monitor organic and inorganic contaminants in air, water, sediments, and soil are presented. The application of new approaches to the determination of pollutants at the sampling stage is discussed. The main milestones in the development of passive techniques for sampling and/or extraction of analytes, and in biomonitors used in environmental analysis, are summarized in this review. Passive samplers and biomonitors are compared.

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Indoor air quality has been the object of interest for scientists and specialists from the fields of science such as chemistry, medicine and ventilation system design. This results from a considerable number of potential factors, which may influence the quality of the broadly understood indoor air in a negative way. Poor quality of indoor air in various types of public utility buildings may significantly affect an increase in the incidence of various types of civilisation diseases. This paper presents information about a broad spectrum of chemical compounds that were identified and determined in the indoor environment of various types of public utility rooms such as churches, museums, libraries, temples and hospitals. An analysis of literature data allowed for identification of the most important transport paths of chemical compounds that significantly influence the quality of the indoor environment and thus the comfort of living and the health of persons staying in it.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-017-8567-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Passive sampling technology has been developing very quickly for the past 20 years, and is widely used for monitoring pollutants in different environments, for example air, water, and soil. It has many significant advantages, including simplicity, low cost, no need for expensive and complicated equipment, no power requirements, unattended operation, and the ability to produce accurate results. The present generation of passive samplers enables detection and analysis of bioavailable pollutants at low and very low concentrations and investigation of the environmental concentration of organic and inorganic pollutants not only on the local scale but also on continental and global scales. This review describes the current application of passive sampling techniques in environmental analysis and monitoring, under both equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions.