Duwamish whistle-blower paid a steep price

After decades in the construction trade, Ron Slater had finally moved up. Management. A company truck. A healthy salary. Life was good.

But then Slater and his crew began to suffer mysterious nosebleeds, headaches and fatigue as they unearthed spots on a construction site with rainbow-hued water, metal shavings and a powerful industrial stench.

Soon, one of his workers passed out mysteriously and had to be taken to the hospital.

Slater began to have deep doubts about his superiors at Morrison Knudsen Corp. when they had his crew drain contaminated water off Harbor Island, a Superfund site, into the Duwamish River.

Morrison Knudsen, one of the largest and best-known construction firms in the world, was clearing the decades-old industrial property owned by the Port of Seattle.

Slater's breaking point came when a bulldozer ruptured an underground tank of diesel fuel. Slater called on the radio asking for help -- only to have the project's safety officer speed over in his truck and bark, "How many ... times have I got to tell you -- don't get on the radio talking about fuel spills or calling 911."

"After a number of these confrontations over testing, over contaminated waste ... it was clear that if I didn't get along and go along, I was going to be going down the highway," Slater said.

Slater kept complaining anyway, and soon he was on his way down the road.

He contacted the state's Department of Labor & Industries. He also called the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, launching a major investigation -- and providing a cautionary tale for the Duwamish River Superfund site, next to Harbor Island.

The lesson from Slater: Unless cleanup contractors and everyone else involved are constantly and carefully watched, the job won't get done right.

After investigating the allegations brought by Slater and his crew, the state in October 2000 issued 34 citations for violations, including failing to protect employees from hazardous substances. It imposed a $48,500 fine.

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