the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 18 Jun 2025
InAPI (v1.0): an Excel-based Indoor Air Pollution Inventory tool to visualise activity-based indoor concentrations of pollutants and their emission rates for the UK
Abstract. Indoor air quality (IAQ) has become a critical focus of research due to the substantial amount of time people spend indoors (approximately 80–90 % of their lives), where a significant proportion of air pollution exposure occurs. However, understanding how time and activity dependent sources, as well as built environment characteristics, influence pollutant emissions and distributions remains very limited. Addressing these challenges, InAPI — an Excel-based Indoor Air Pollution Inventory tool — has been developed using data synthesised from a comprehensive review of UK indoor air pollution research. For the development of the InAPI tool, we have categorised existing literature by pollutant types, indoor environments, and activities, identifying significant knowledge gaps and offering an open-access database of typical pollutant concentrations and emission rates. InAPI leverages this database, which includes estimates of emissions from multiple sources based on chemical mass balance methods, to enable users to visualise indoor pollutant levels and emission characteristics across the varied UK indoor settings. Despite the fragmented methodologies in historical IAQ research and the underrepresentation of key sources, pollutants, and environment-specific characteristics (in particular ventilation and occupant behaviour), InAPI consolidates this evidence into a practical and easy-to-use tool. This tool facilitates standardisation of IAQ measurement protocols and the creation of activity-based indoor emission inventories, bridging critical research gaps. By providing a robust platform for understanding indoor air pollutant dynamics, InAPI represents a significant step forward in advancing IAQ research in the UK and beyond given the transferability of the approach, supporting efforts to mitigate indoor air pollution and inform policy initiatives nationally and globally.
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Status: final response (author comments only)
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CEC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-783', Juan Antonio Añel, 23 Jun 2025
Dear authors,
I have checked your manuscript, and its compliance with the code and data policy of our journal. Unfortunately, I doubt that an spreadsheet based upon a proprietary software can be considered a contribution enough to be considered a geoscientific model, and therefore, in scope for our journal. I would like to bring this to the attention of the Topical Editor.
Beyond it, a main issue remains outstanding, and it is that your work depends on a proprietary software, Excel, which is an enormous limitation to its use and compliance with long-term replicability of your work. First, .xls files are not a fully compliant ISO standard, and this means that even having access to the Excel software, it is not assured that a version different to the one that you have used to create the .xls file can open it, and make possible to use it. Regarding this, you have not identified what Excel version you have used to create the file. Also, for example, I do not use Excel, but the fully compliant ISO software LibreOffice: I have tried to use the file that is your contribution in this manuscript, and it has been impossible because it does not work with LibreOffice.
Therefore, it would be good if at minimum, you can make the .xls file that you have produced, compatible with other software packages and Excel versions, beyond the one that you have used. Second, it is not clear the scientific value of your contribution, that it can be considered a model, and therefore if it merits publication in our journal.
Juan A. Añel
Geosci. Model Dev. Executive Editor
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-CEC1 -
AC1: 'Reply on CEC1', Zaheer Ahmad Nasar, 11 Jul 2025
Dear Dr Añel,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and for highlighting perceived issues regarding the code and data policy, software accessibility, and the scientific scope of our manuscript.
We appreciate your concerns and are addressing the key issues below:
Software and Format Compatibility
Regarding the use of Microsoft Excel and the implications for long-term reproducibility, we would like to clarify and respond as follows:
We acknowledge the general limitations of relying on proprietary software and the issues surrounding the .xls format. The tool we developed uses specific functions and features that are only available in the latest versions of Microsoft Excel (specifically, Excel Microsoft 365 MSO - Version 2505 Build 16.0.18827.20102 64-bit). Downgrading to earlier versions would unfortunately result in loss of core functionality and impair the operation of the tool.
However, to address accessibility concerns and ensure broader usability:
- We have tested and confirmed that the tool runs fully and correctly using the open-source office suite ONLYOFFICE (https://www.onlyoffice.com/en/download-desktop.aspx), which is freely available for Linux, Windows, and macOS platforms.
- ONLYOFFICE does not require a Microsoft Office license, offering a viable and cost-free alternative for users who do not have access to Excel.
- We will update the manuscript and the user manual to include this compatibility information, along with clear usage instructions and a note on software requirements.
Fit to journal remit
With respect to your comment on fit to GMD journal remit, we would like to point out that we have approached a GMD editor in advance and also established that GMD includes within its remit the publication specifically of “spreadsheet-based models”; the wording on the GMD scope in March 2025 also included “utility tools used to build practical modelling systems, such as coupling frameworks or other software toolboxes with a geoscientific application” which matches very well what we have submitted – it seems the wording on the GMD website has changed slightly since, but this obviously happened after our submission and it would be very unusual to change a journal’s remit for papers under review.
Relevance of tool to GMD readership
Our spreadsheet-based tool is a modelling tool highly relevant to the GMD community as we define a system of equations and formulas that let interact inputs to return outputs. We provide information of observations, ventilation and building size, we calculate the emission rates from these inputs and we produce as outputs the individual emission rates by pollutant and by activity for all the involved pollutants. This tool has attracted wide interest across the IAQ community in particular when presented at conferences in the UK, Iceland, Finland and the US and is considered a key output of the UKRI Clean Air Programme (Strategic Priorities Fund).
Yours faithfully,
Zaheer Ahmad Nasir
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-AC1 -
CC1: 'Reply on AC1', Christian Pfrang, 11 Jul 2025
Please note that while the text on “model description papers” seems to have moved on the GMD website since submission, the wording still includes specifically “utility tools used to build practical modelling systems, such as coupling frameworks or other software toolboxes with a geoscientific application” which matches very well what we have submitted.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-CC1
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AC1: 'Reply on CEC1', Zaheer Ahmad Nasar, 11 Jul 2025
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-783', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 Jul 2025
The manuscript "InAPI (v1.0): an Excel-based Indoor Air Pollution Inventory tool to visualise activity-based indoor concentrations of pollutants and their emission rates for the UK" presents a compiled indoor air pollution inventory based on a broad synthesis of UK-specific literature. The tool offers value by organizing pollutant concentration and emission rate data by activity and indoor environment type. Given the increasing awareness of indoor exposure risks, especially in policy and health research, this is somehow a relevant contribution.
The authors however only developed a user-oriented tool that is easy to navigate and may support preliminary assessments, research planning, or education. In this regard, I think the manuscript may offer a resource to the community, especially for those less familiar with modeling frameworks.
Although the tool is based in spreadsheet on a limited software platform and its functionality is centered on data lookup, aggregation, and basic visualization, it could be useful. It lacks the algorithmic or simulation-based elements typically expected of model description papers in GMD. I do believe the work deserves visibility and can be beneficial to the community if positioned appropriately. For this reason, I recommend the manuscript be considered for the current state, i.e. discussion in Geoscientific Model Development Discussions (GMDD). The GMDD platform offers a suitable venue for sharing this type of resource, encouraging feedback from users and developers, and possibly helping evolve this work into a more broadly integrated modeling framework in the future.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-RC1 -
RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-783', Anonymous Referee #2, 02 Aug 2025
The manuscript titled "InAPI (v1.0): an Excel-based Indoor Air Pollution Inventory tool to visualise activity-based indoor concentrations of pollutants and their emission rates for the UK" presents a contribution to the indoor air quality (IAQ) research community. The authors have synthesized a wide range of UK-specific IAQ literature into a structured database and visualization tool that could support researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in assessing pollutant exposure in indoor environments. The InAPI tool is consolidating fragmented data and presenting it in an accessible, user-friendly format. The focus on activity-based emission inventories fills a useful niche, especially given the increasing policy and scientific interest in IAQ exposure pathways. From a community perspective, this resource has the potential to generate discussion and help set the stage for more advanced model developments or integrative assessment tools in the future. That said, the current implementation is spreadsheet-based and relies on proprietary software, which limits interoperability and long-term reproducibility. There is no underlying numerical simulation or algorithmic core beyond data structuring and lookup functionality. For these reasons, I believe that the manuscript is well-suited for GMDD, where it can reach a broad and relevant audience and spark productive community discussion. In this context, it stands as a resource that could inform future model development, harmonization of IAQ inventories, and collaborative progress in the field. I support the paper moving forward in GMDD and believe it has merit at this stage, even if it is not finalized as a publication in GMD.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-RC2 -
EC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-783', Mohamed Salim, 15 Aug 2025
After the discussion phase, it is clear that the journey of this article will stop at GMDD. The paper consolidates fragmented UK indoor air quality data into a structured, accessible format and provides a useful activity-based inventory tool. Its visibility in GMDD will still allow it to reach the intended research and policy audience, stimulate community engagement, and serve as a valuable reference for future model development.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-EC1 -
AC2: 'Reply on EC1', Zaheer Ahmad Nasar, 20 Aug 2025
We sincerely thank the referees and editor for their constructive comments. Their feedback highlights the contribution of this article as a valuable resource for advancing indoor emission modelling. We hope that its publication in GMDD will increase visibility and accessibility to a broad audience involved in research and policy, supporting future developments towards more integrated and algorithmic modelling frameworks.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-783-AC2
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AC2: 'Reply on EC1', Zaheer Ahmad Nasar, 20 Aug 2025
Data sets
Indoor Air Quality Emissions & Modelling System (IAQ-EMS) - Indoor Air pollutants database A. Mazzeo et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15630355
Model code and software
Indoor Air Pollutants Inventory (InAPI) Tool A. Mazzeo et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15630454
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