WASHINGTON - Sick nuclear weapons workers say a new federal program aimed at compensating them for on-the-job exposure to toxic substances will leave many without the help they need, and they want Congress to do something about it.

        Under the program, the Energy Department will reverse a decades-old policy and help people who worked for contractors at government weapons plants file for assistance under the nation's state worker compensation programs.

        Energy Department plants are located in Ohio, Nevada and Washington.

        Workers exposed to toxic substances, such as asbestos and harsh chemicals, were not included in a year-old program in which the government agreed to compensate nuclear workers sickened by cancer-causing radiation or silica and beryllium, which cause lung problems.

        Circumstances at roughly half the nation's nuclear facilities could still make it extremely difficult for the Cold-War-era workers to get help.

        The Energy Department has no authority to pay the claims outright, because the workers were not technically federal employees.

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