Very nice If i may, a contructive comment, i would have made the cutting section the same height as the flat table section, then you`d have a larger welding table if that makes sense.
Definatly on my list of things to do, fed up of cutting things hanging off the bench
Definitely do as Tino suggests and put water in the drawer.
Eventually you'll need to replace the slats, when that happens you might want to mount them in slots at each side rather than weld them in - easier for the next replacement. You could use this opportunity to make the top surface of the slats match the top of the plate section too.
It might also be an idea to cut the slats a bit long and then bend them into a shallow arc before fitting them, that way you'll never be cutting a line which happens to coincide with a slat below the workpiece.
I like the idea of have slot-in slats. If (when) the 'tops' get a bit carved up they could be flipped over and get twice as much use out of them!
I've considered making some sort of container to place on the bench to catch the spatter when cutting and this looks like I could adapt it to do the job.