Analyse, distribution, production et dégradation d’esters de phtalates (PAEs) en zone côtière méditerranéenne

Phthalic Acid Esters (PAEs) are a group of emerging organic contaminants that have become a serious issue because of their ubiquitous presence on the marine environment worldwide and for the endocrine disrupting effects in animals and humans. However, little is known about their distribution in the Ocean, mainly because of analytical difficulties and the high possibility of ambient sample contamination. Plastic debris in marine environment includes resin pellets, macro- and microplastic fragments, and contains additives such as PAEs that might be released in the aquatic environment in unknown proportion. In our work, we improved an analytical method for the determination of 8 PAEs, at trace levels in marine and fresh waters. In the first part of the thesis, the method was validated for different seawater salinities and wastewater treatment plant outlet. By passing 1 L of sample through glass cartridges packed with 200 mg of Oasis HLB and eluted with 6 mL of ethyl acetate, the recoveries of 8 PAEs ranged from 95 to 115 % with acceptable blank values (below 0.4-4.0 % of the masses measured in different seawater samples). In a second part, PAE distribution in the Marseille Bay has been evaluated though a one-year monitoring from December 2013 to November 2014. The results showed the occurrence of six PAEs with total concentrations ranging from 130 to 1330 ng L-1. In the last part of this thesis, two common plastic samples as trash plastic bags and insulation layer of electric cables were incubated in natural seawater in laboratory conditions and studied for the release of PAE. Release ws observed for the different PAEs with kinetics varying according to the plastic type.