Otsego and Canadarago Lakes were not included in a list of the waters of New York State whose fish may pose a potential threat of exposure to chemical contaminants, according to the annual list released earlier this month by State Health Department.

Goodyear Lake was among those on the list because of elevated levels of mercury found in walleye. Specific advisories now apply to more than 90 New York water bodies and identify those sportfish that have elevated levels of chemical contaminants.

Health Department spokesperson Claire Pospisil said, "the intent of the advisory is to offer information to fishers about how to avoid exposure to certain contaminants that may be in sport fish."

Mercury is a toxin and the Food and Drug Administration has set the acceptable level at one part per million.

Pospisil said the health department advisories are based on data collected by the Department of Conservation. The department gathers samples of fish from lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers and streams and analyzes them for the presence of chemical contaminants.

In the case of Goodyear Lake, walleye over 22 inches were found to have elevated levels of mercury and people are advised to eat no more than one meal per month.

DEC spokerswoman Gabrielle Done said last week that the agency also sampled fish from Otsego and Canadarago Lakes, but mercury levels were below the FDA threshold of one part per million.

She said in the case of Otsego Lake, they could not obtain walleye larger than 19 inches where it would be expected that higher levels of mercury would be found because it accumulates in the tissue.

In addition to the walleye, the DEC typically also samples small and large mouth bass, yellow perch and pike.

Fish from Canadarago Lake also tested below the FDA's allowable limit, she said.

Dr. Willard Harman, director of the Biological Field Station on Otsego Lake, said in all the testing they have done, mercury levels in the lake were always below detectable limits.

Dr. Theodore Peters, a long-time member of the village sewer board, said, tests of the effluent at the wastewater treament plant have not indicated elevated levels of mercury.

Trace amounts were found once in the sewage sludge from the plant where it binds to sulfur compounds - one reason why it is unlikely to be found in the effluent, he said.

Mercury is a toxic pollutant that accumulates in the environment and can be found in fish that humans eat, causing neurological damage. Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable, and many women of child-bearing age can be exposed to unsafe levels of the pollutant.

A general advisory still applies to sportfish taken from any fresh waters in the state and some marine waters at the mouth of the Hudson River. The general advice is to eat no more than one meal (1/2 pound) of fish per week.

At the same time the health department was releasing its latest advisory, Governor George Pataki signed into law legislation that bans mercury-added novelty products in New York State and requires new labeling and recycling of other mercury-added consumer products. The new law also prohibits schools from using mercury in the classroom.

"The new legislation requires that mercury-added products are disposed of in a proper way and recycled for future use, so that we can ensure that the mercury never ends up polluting a lake or river in any one of our communities across New York," Pataki added.

Mercury-added products include thermostats, thermometers, switches, medical or scientific instruments, electrical relays, and lamps and batteries - excluding button batteries. Disposal of mercury-added products must be done through a collector, solid waste management facility, recycling facility or authorized hazardous waste facility.