  We present sequential optical spectra of the afterglow of GRB 010222 obtained
one day apart using the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) and the
Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) on the Keck telescopes. Three
low-ionization absorption systems are spectroscopically identified at
z1=1.47688, z2=1.15628, and z3=0.92747. The higher resolution ESI spectrum
reveals two distinct components in the highest redshift system at z1a=1.47590
and z1b=1.47688. We interpret the z1b=1.47688 system as an absorption feature
of the disk of the host galaxy of GRB 010222. The best fitted power-law optical
continuum and [Zn/Cr] ratio imply low dust content or a local gray dust
component near the burst site. In addition, we do not detect strong signatures
of vibrationally excited states of H_2. If the GRB took place in a superbubble
or young stellar cluster, there are no outstanding signatures of an ionized
absorber, either. Analysis of the spectral time dependence at low resolution
shows no significant evidence for absorption-line variability. This lack of
variability is confronted with time-dependent photoionization simulations
designed to apply the observed flux from GRB 010222 to a variety of assumed
atomic gas densities and cloud radii. The absence of time dependence in the
absorption lines implies that high-density environments are disfavored. In
particular, if the GRB environment was dust free, its density was unlikely to
exceed nH=10^2 cm^-3. If depletion of metals onto dust is similar to Galactic
values or less than solar abundances are present, then nH > 2 x 10^4 cm^-3 is
probably ruled out in the immediate vicinity of the burst.
