[morzh]

Let me just put it this way. Asbestos was used to some point as an open insulation. In anything from the "voltage drop" 3rd wire in some AA5 radios, to clothing irons (as a sheet cover over the heating element, which was a simple Nichrome spiral inside some porcelain beads), to soldering irons, to, as we know, in radios and so on so forth.
I doubt we could state that all those, who used these things, acquired asbestosis.
Or even those who repaired them.

Asbestosis became a serious problem for people, who, before this knowledge became common, worked with asbestos / its removal without protection, over significant periode of time.

Here is the quote from Wikipedia on asbestosis.

"Asbestosis is caused by breathing in asbestos fibers. It requires a relatively large exposure over a long period of time, which typically only occur in those who directly work with asbestos."

Now, this will cause you to have way more prolonged (and still not that dangerous) contact with asbestos, if you decide to remove it or coat it with something, than if you just leave it be in where it was so far.

Also, there were two major asbestos type: chrisotile (white asbestos), which was the main type used in the US (95%) and amphibole (blue and brown asbestos) that is eve more dangeros, as unlike the previous type, it readily creates dust and small particles, and stays in the lungs much longer. This one, at least in Europe, was prohibited for use much earlier.

As it often happens in the free world society, the press, in order to engage readers, started the scare campaign, to the point that a mere looking at an asbestos sheet was deemed dangerous. Kinda like one of our librarian women, who, when she saw floppy diskettes, that someone put next to her own diskettes, screamed that they should be immediately removed, as they might contain viruses, and so could infect her diskettes.

So. One does not need to stick their nose in the old cabinet and keep sniffing the asbestos sheet, and one might wear gloves, and, if so desired, a simple mask, when disassembling and putting back together a radio with an asbestos sheet in it, but one does not have to be paranoid either.

Just to re-iterate, I am not advocating being careless, not using protection and sniffing the wrong stuff; I just try to adhere to common sense practices. And, yes, if it makes one very nervous - sure, use mask, gloves, plastic bag, and get rid of it.