R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.5-4

The general assembly finds, upon the reports, hearings, and records of its legislative commission to study asbestos exposure, and of its own committees, and those of other states, and of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, that asbestos materials and asbestiform materials are hazardous substances in a friable condition, and that they are a danger to the public health, a respiratory hazard, a potential carcinogenic, and a known cause of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. It further finds that asbestos materials in buildings and products within the state in a friable condition are a potential health hazard and that there is no known minimal level of exposure to friable asbestos which will guarantee the full protection of the public health.