The NARSTO_EPA_SS_HOUSTON_TEXAQS2000_PM25_ORG_DATA is North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Supersite (SS) Houston, Texas Air Quality Study 2000 (TexAQS2000) Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 Organic Speciation Data. This file contains 24-hour integrated organic speciation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) collected August 15, 2000 through September 30, 2000 at the HRM Site 3, Aldine, and La Porte Houston Supersite monitoring locations during TexAQS2000. The filters were extracted with hexane and benzene: isopropanol. Polar compounds were analyzed after derivatization with either diazomethane or bis-trimethylsilyl-trifluoroacetamide. All compounds were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The Houston Supersite is one of several Supersites that was established in urban areas within the United States by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better understand the measurement, sources, and health effects of suspended particulate matter (PM). The overall goals were to characterize the composition and identify the sources of particulate matter in Southeastern Texas, to develop and test new methods for characterizing fine particulate matter, and to collect data on the physical and chemical characterization of fine particulate matter that can be used to support exposure and health effects studies.

NARSTO, which has since disbanded, was a public/private partnership, whose membership spanned across government, utilities, industry, and academe throughout Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The primary mission was to coordinate and enhance policy-relevant scientific research and assessment of tropospheric pollution behavior; activities provide input for science-based decision-making and determination of workable, efficient, and effective strategies for local and regional air-pollution management. Data products from local, regional, and international monitoring and research programs are still available.