§ 23-24.5-2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter:
(1) "Abatement� means the repair, enclosure, encapsulation, or removal of friable asbestos
in significant quantities as determined by the director by regulation. The term shall
not apply to those spot repairs of limited areas of asbestos as determined by the
director or his or her designee through regulation to be of low risk exposure.
(2) "Abatement process� means the series of events leading to the abatement of a friable
asbestos hazard. The process includes the inspection, identification, and ranking
of the hazard, the drawing of abatement plans, the monitoring of the abatement, the
eventual clean-up, and the issuance of a reoccupancy permit.
(3) "Action criteria� refers to the asbestos assessment factors detailed in the Decision
Protocol, Appendix D, of The New Jersey Asbestos Policy Commission's Report to the
Governor, March 1985, except that the criteria shall not include air sampling standards
contained in that report.
(4) "Asbestiform materials� means those naturally occurring fibers of similar shape, size,
strength, surface, and characteristics of asbestos fibers as are otherwise described
in the publication entitled "Non-Occupational Health Risks of Asbestiform Fibers�,
Committee on Non-Occupational Health Risks of Asbestiform Fibers, Board on Toxicology
and Health Hazards of the Commission on Life Science of the National Research Council;
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Academy of Sciences, National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C. 1984, E.P.A. 68-01-4655.
(5) "Asbestos� means that unique group of naturally occurring minerals that separate into
fibers of high tensile strength, resistant to heat, wear, and chemicals, described
as the following types: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite,
and actinolite, and every product containing any of these minerals that have been
chemically treated and/or altered which, after manufacture, are used for these products
and end uses as insulation, textiles, paper, cement sheets, floor tile, wall covering,
decorations, coating, sealants, cement pipe, and reinforced plastics and other compounds.
(6) "Asbestos containing material (ACM)� means any material or product which contains
more than one percent (1%) asbestos.
(7) "Asbestos contractor� means any person or entity engaged in asbestos abatement as
a business. Each employee of any entity directly engaged or intending to engage directly
in abatement as a business shall be considered a contractor for the purposes of training
and licensure requirements of this title.
(8) "Competent person� means a public or private employee designated, trained, and certified
to conduct basic asbestos inspection and abatement process evaluation within the jurisdiction
of the agency, municipality, or building(s) in which the person is employed.
(9) "Department� means the state department of health.
(10) "Director� means the director of health.
(11) "Friable� means that condition of crumbled, pulverized, powdered, crushed, or exposed
asbestiform or asbestos fibers which are capable of being released into the air by
hand pressure.
(12) "Friable asbestos material� means:
(i) Asbestos containing material (ACM) that, when dry, can be crumbled, pulverized or
reduced to power by hand pressure; or
(ii) Non-friable ACM, including but not limited to regulated asbestos containing material
(RACM) as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 40 CFR 61, Subpart M, that will be or has been subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting, and
abrading; or by the forces expected to act on the ACM during renovation and/or demolition
activities.
(13) "High priority group building� refers to those public or private buildings or portions
of these that are child inhabited or child frequented structures and shall include,
but not be limited to: public and parochial schools (grades pre-K to 12), day care
centers, nurseries, acute or chronic children's hospitals or wardrooms of these as
defined by the state building code use groups (I-2). Private residences used for these
purposes and housing occupied by ten (10) children or less are excluded from this
group.
(14) "Intermediate priority group building� refers to those public or private buildings
or portions of these other than those in the high and low priority groups which are
designated within the state building code use groups as follows: places of public
assembly (group A); buildings occupied by adult inmates (group I-3), hospital patients
(group I-2), or institutional care facility clients (group I-1); and auditoriums (group
A). "Intermediate priority group buildings� also includes those buildings which are:
colleges (ordinarily group B); banks (group B); and other business, industrial, educational,
and mercantile buildings (groups B, E, F, H and M) including, but not limited to,
hotels and motels (group R-1), multifamily dwellings (group R-2), and places of employment
with more than ten (10) employees.
(15) "Low priority group building� refers to public or private buildings or portions of
them not in the other groups which are infrequently used (group U), closed, abandoned,
or scheduled for abandonment in the immediate future and those buildings which are
private residences (groups R-3 and R-4).
(16) "Owner� means the person or entity having legal title to property and/or buildings;
the term includes owners and consignees of asbestos material to be sold, installed,
fabricated, or manufactured in Rhode Island. For purposes of publicly owned property
only, the owner is defined as the chief executive officer of the state agency or municipal
agency which owns, leases, or controls the use of the property.
(17) "Private building� refers to any structure open to the public which is not a public
building, and includes but is not limited to: private schools, nurseries, colleges,
hospitals, warehouses, banks, retail stores, automobile repair shops, and places of
employment.
(18) "Private residence� refers to any building with either one or two (2) separate dwelling
units used solely as a private domicile of a person or persons where those persons
normally sleep, eat, and maintain living quarters and which is designated within the
state building code use group R-4.
(19) "Public building� refers to any structure owned, managed, leased, furnished, or occupied
by a state or municipal agency, commission, or public school.
(20) "Regulated asbestos containing material (RACM)� as defined by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency pursuant to 40 CFR 61, Subpart M, means:
(i) Friable asbestos material;
(ii) Category I non-friable ACM (packings, gaskets, resilient floor covering, and asphalt
roofing products) that has become friable;
(iii) Category I non-friable ACM that will be or has been subjected to sanding, grinding,
cutting, or abrading; or
(iv) Category II non-friable ACM (excluding category I non-friable ACM) that has a high
probability of becoming or has become crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by
the forces expected to act on the material in the course of demolition or renovation
operations.
(21) "State building code� refers to chapter 27.3 of this title.
(22) "State inspector� means a person trained in industrial hygiene who is either a state
employee or a designee of the health department whose duty, among others, is to conduct
state asbestos inspections.