This paper is a commentary on comments made by Drs Molhave and Wolkoff regarding indoor air pollution indices presented by the authors in 2003. They make it clear that IAPI attains the following aims : it is easily understood by all stakeholders, it associates well with symptoms, and provides a setting for management of the indoor environment.
Bu this index is a metric of in-office pollution and not a metric of a specific pollutant.

The authors agree with the arguments by Mendell for seeking a composite index relating indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and building related symptoms (BRS). The determination of the (IPSI) Indoor Pollutant Standard Index is a useful first-step for the practitioners. It provides scope for further refinement that could incorporate the relative impact of more than just one measured indoor pollutant.

Indoor air is complex with its pollutants constantly changing (in time, spatial distribution and proportions). Furthermore distinction between organic compounds and particles becomes ambiguous.So developing a valid Indoor Air Pollution Indice becomes difficult : a symptom has usually different causes, and a given pollutant brings different effects alone or in combinaison with other kinds of exposure.

The variables that can be quantified in biological systems are called biomarkers. In a broadest sense biomarkers are substitute measures used because the variable of interest cannot be measured for practical, economical or principal reasons.The quality of a substitute measure refers to the quality of the predictions which can be made based on it. Those predictions must have a very low frequency of mistakes.The indices cannot be used alone unless better documentation of the quality of their predictions is established.

The best protection of human health from adverse environmental exposures is possible when both the disease and its specific causal exposures are understood.Building-related symptoms (BRS) have caused an increasing public and scientific concern about Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), for over 20 years.

Field investigations have been conducted for that study in 5 office buildings of Taiwan to assess the risk of formaldehyde exposure for general population.This study demonstrates that the level of formaldehyde emitted from building materials can be affected by climatic conditions such as temperature and relative humidity. Consumers must be protected from exposure and it is urgent to help the industry to develop low emission materials in that part of the world.

The aim of that study was to assess the impact in an office environment of absolute and relative humidity, temperature and humidification on workers' skin and upper airway symptoms (such as nasal or pharyngeal dryness, eyes problems, congestion). Physical factors associated with symptoms and perceptions were appraised with logistic regression models.

This paper presents the results of an indoor air quality-energy audit made in five air-conditioned office buildings in Singapore. Data are presented from both objective and subjective measurements.It appears that on the one hand BSI (Building Symptom Index) values are in correlation with IAQ and thermal comfort acceptability but on the other hand, no significant correlation exists between BSI (Building Symptom Index) and IPSI (Indoor Pollutant Standard Index).

The Indoor Air Pollution Index (IAPI) has been developed to put an end to communication concerns among building tenants, building managers, and IAQ investigators. That index, simple and easy to understand, satisfies the 3 criteria of environmental indices because it relates to occupant symptoms, is easy to communicate to the consumer and can be used as an environmental and management tool for reducing in-office air pollution effectively.The index uses a unitless single number between 0 (lowest pollution level and best IAQ) and ten (highest pollution level and worst IAQ).

Diagnosing occupant complaints is not an easy task. The following article is a guide for engineers and owners confronted with hot/cold problems. It advises how to evaluate the occupant's complaint (with seven questions), then to review the HVAC equipment performances for a proper operation, to make load calculations, to review zoning conflicts and draft problems, to measure the humidity level, and the omni-directional drafts.