New York - A federal judge who held up an effort to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by 9/11 responders exposed to World Trade Center dust dropped his opposition Thursday after the deal was redrafted to give more money to sick workers and less to their lawyers.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein gave his enthusiastic endorsement to a new settlement that could pay as much as $713 million to about 10,000 police, firefighters and construction workers.

He implored them to take the money, saying it was time to end an ugly and complicated case that has pitted New York City officials against thousands of men and women hailed as heroes for their service at the trade center.

"This is a very good deal. I am very excited about this deal," Hellerstein said during a court hearing in which he signed off on the pact.

Just three months ago, the judge sternly rejected an earlier plan that was worth about $125 million less, saying it did too little for ground zero workers who got sick after breathing toxic ash.

Plaintiffs in the case have complained of breathing and digestive problems, chronic cough, and hundreds of other common and rare ailments.

Among other things, the new proposal would boost payments for people diagnosed with cancer, an illness that hasn't yet been linked to the dust but is perhaps the most feared among the workers.

The settlement's success is still in doubt.

Under the terms of the agreement, 95 percent of the workers involved in the case must opt in for it take effect.

They must chose quickly. The agreement gives them only until Sept. 30 to make up their minds.

Some 9/11 responders had complained the original agreement contained far too little money, and said they would rather go to court, or hope Congress would intervene with a richer compensation bill, including one that could be considered this summer in the House.

That bill would contain as much as $8.2 billion in compensation for sick workers, plus $5.1 billion in free health care, but its prospects for passage are uncertain. As currently written, responders who participate in the settlement would be barred from getting compensation from the federal fund, although they would still qualify for free medical treatment.

John Feal, of the Long Island-based 9/11 victims' group, the FealGood Foundation, praised the improved compensation in the legal settlement but said it still does too little for the sickest responders.

"There isn't enough money to give to the people who are seriously sick," he said. "This should have been in the billions, not in the millions. But it is better than the first one."