California researchers said high levels of flame retardant have been found in the eggs of peregrine falcons living in urban areas.

The birds are believed to be ingesting polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, that have leached from foam mattresses, synthetic fabric and plastic casings of electronic products, the San Francisco Chronicle said Thursday. PBDEs were found in peregrine falcon eggs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Long Beach, Calif.

Urban wildlife are the sentinel species that can tell us about chemicals of emerging concern that are coming from city exposures, Kim Hooper, a research scientists with the California Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, told the newspaper.

The findings were presented at the Northern California Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meeting at the University of California, Berkeley.

PBDEs are known as endocrine disrupters because they interfere with the function of the thyroid hormone.

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