The Steve Zappe Environmental Page

I received a Bachelor's in Physics from Cal State Fresno in 1974, and a Master's in Geological Science from UC Riverside in 1979. After working for Shell Oil Company in New Orleans and Houston for 10 years, and another 3+ years in Houston for Sierra Geophysics, I then worked for the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in the Hazardous Waste Bureau as a permit writer in Santa Fe. It was half the pay and double the cost of living compared to Houston (go figure!), but then I was giving back for those years I spent in the oil business.

My main job until 2011 was working as a permit writer and staff manager for the State's hazardous waste facility permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Here is a useful list of WIPP web links.

In my "spare" time, I was also peripherally involved with TRU mixed waste activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), birthplace of the atomic bomb. LANL was the first facility to ship and dispose non-mixed TRU waste at WIPP on March 26, 1999 (before the State issued the WIPP disposal permit). I could see the lights of Los Alamos from my neighborhood 30 miles away.

Now that I'm retired, I occasionally get involved in WIPP permit modification public comment and hearing opportunities.

• Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations - The federal regulations which form the basis for environmental protection in the U.S. Look under Chapter I, Subchapter I for solid waste regulations. New Mexico has adopted Parts 260 - 270 which deal with hazardous waste.
• Download the various RCRA Training Modules or the RCRA Orientation Manual (both in Acrobat Reader format) to learn all about hazardous waste regulations.
• Search any number of online databases of the Government Printing Office.
• New Mexico Statutes and Administrative Code are available. The relevant cite for the Hazardous Waste Act is NMSA 74.4, and the Hazardous Waste Management Regulations are in 20.4.1 NMAC.
• Federal Legislation - Here's where you can follow current legislation in either house of Congress.
• Radiation Reassessed is an educational resource (sponsored by the National Institute for Science Education and the National Science Foundation) which explores the controversy surrounding the health effects of ionizing radiation.
• Ward Valley was a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal site in California's Mojave Desert that caused quite a stir in my old home state.
• Here's an environmental justice case study documenting the issues in Ward Valley
  
• California Radioactive Materials Management Forum is an industry organization that supported development of the Ward Valley site.
• The National Academy of Sciences issued a report on their findings on Ward Valley in 1995.
• "Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Toward the Development of More Effective Policy Through Understanding Failure" is a balanced, thought provoking analysis of why rad disposal sites are opposed, and how lessons can be learned.
• Yucca Mountain was the proposed high-level spent fuel repository in Nevada. Visit the Nevada Governor's Nuclear Waste Project Office site to see the State of Nevada's position on the repository.
•  "The Atomic Cafe" is an provocative documentary on nuclear weapons, using old civil defense and military footage from the '40s, '50s, and '60s to present a compelling and thought-provoking film. View the actual film here.
  
• CONELRAD: All Things Atomic is an eclectic assortment of cold-war era memorabilia.
  
• Enviro-related links - This page links to a host of environmental activist, nuclear interest, and governmental web pages, brought to you by the Nuclear Information & Resource Service.
• EPA REACH IT is a system designed to search, view, download, and print information about innovative remediation and characterization technologies.
• NIOSH Databases - access to the following databases: Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health Values (IDLHs), International Chemical Safety Cards (WHO/IPCS/ILO), NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG), OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs), and Specific Medical Tests Published for OSHA Regulated Substances.
• RTK Net - This is a network providing free access to databases, documents, and conferences on the environment, housing, and sustainable development, established to empower citizen involvement in community and government decision-making.
• Scorecard is the ultimate source for free and easily accessible local environmental information on the Internet. Using authoritative scientific and government data, Scorecard provides the most up-to-date and extensive collection of environmental information available on the web today.
• LandView/ MARPLOT is a FREE Windows-based Geographical Information System (GIS) program, complete with census and environmental data for the state and county of your choice. Get more information about it here.

Page modified 2/25/2021