PORTLAND (AP) – A government report says flame-retardant chemicals that are banned in Maine are showing up in all U.S. coastal waters. The so-called PDBE’s were detected only in a limited number of areas a decade earlier.

The Portland Press Herald says the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, have shown up in mussels collected along the Maine coast.

Maine was among the first states to restrict the sale of consumer products containing PDBEs during the past five years. The compounds now are banned or are being phased out in many parts of the world amid growing evidence that they are building up in the environment. Laboratory tests have shown them to be toxic to animals.