Rubber additives and their halogenated derivatives: presence in water and biological matrices and assessment of their endocrine disrupting activities

This thesis is part of the HEVEA research project, funded by ANSES as part of the Environment-Health-Work 2025 call for projects. The aim is to study the contamination of water resources and drinking water by rubber additives, assess the toxicity of certain processing products, and estimate human exposure. The person recruited will be specifically responsible for the following analytical aspects: (i) identification and quantification of additives and their processing products from leachates (tires, seals, pipes), (ii) targeted analyses of different environmental matrices (groundwater and surface water, drinking water) and biological matrices (urine and hair).

He/she will participate in the synthesis of processing products for use as analytical standards in the evaluation of environmental and biological matrices, as well as for a toxicological evaluation carried out in parallel with the thesis project.

The Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers (IC2MP) is a multidisciplinary joint research unit (UMR) of the University of Poitiers and the CNRS (INC and INSU) in the fields of chemistry and geosciences of the surface (UMR 7285). Created in 2012, it results from the merger of four Unités Mixtes de Recherche (LACCO, LCME, SRSN and HYDRASA) historically present in Poitiers for more than 40 years. It has about 260 members (about 100 researchers and research teachers and about 50 permanent technical staff, and around 110 non-permanent staff, including 90 PhD students).

Since its creation, IC2MP has developed a scientific policy focused on sustainable chemistry, specifically integrating (1) the synthesis of molecules and materials using atom- and energy-efficient processes and (2) their interactions with natural environments (reactivity, transfer, bioaccumulation, persistence, etc.). This combination of chemistry and geoscience enables IC2MP to address environmental issues across a wide range of the value chain of a process by comprehensively integrating all stages of a chemical compound transformation process and offering scientific and technological solutions from design to environmental implications.

You have a five-year degree (Master's, engineering school or equivalent) with training in chemical analysis and/or water treatment. You are highly rigorous and have a keen interest in laboratory experimentation. A good knowledge of organic contaminant analysis using chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry would be an asset.