Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is preparing a bill to streamline compensation for Nevada Test Site workers by expanding special exposure coverage for those who were in harm's way from test site activities between 1951 and 1993.

The legislation is spurred by a petition he announced Monday that was signed by former workers Paul Stednick and Peter White, and Lori Hunton, the daughter of a former worker.

Presently, only former workers who were at the test site 250 days or more between 1951 and 1962, or their survivors, have the so-called "special exposure cohort" designation.

"That represents only about a third of all claimants," a statement from Reid's office reads.

The statement quotes Reid, saying, "This is the right thing to do for Nevada Test Site workers who have become ill as a result of their work. These are atomic energy veterans who deserve nothing but the best in return for the contributions they made to protect our country."

Similar legislation that Reid submitted to Congress last year as an amendment to the Defense appropriations bill failed.

The petition seeks coverage for workers and former workers who were:

• Present during an underground nuclear test or performed drill backs, re-entry or clean-up work;

• Present for tests or post-test activities for the nuclear rocket testing program;

• Worked in the classified installation known as Area 51 next to the test site or other classified program areas;

• Employed at the test site for an activity that was monitored for exposure to ionizing radiation or should have been monitored for radiation from Jan. 1, 1963 through Sept. 30, 1992.

One former worker, John Funk, said the effort to seek special exposure status will be fruitless unless the profile for estimating contamination at the test site is upgraded. Currently, Funk said, the profile is flawed because contamination from radioactive materials is underestimated by 66 percent.

"It's going to be a waste of time unless they go after the root of the problem," Funk said.