[mindslight]

Ultimately you're describing how asbestos is generally handled, apart from the rare exceptions of subsidies to preemptively replace it. But eventually, maintenance has to be performed on things made out of asbestos, which would then disperse it into the air and surrounding environment. So sure, asbestos is basically inert until it's disturbed, but once some part needs to be disturbed then it makes sense to do a full scale remediation rather than setting up expensive containment and only finishing part of the job.

[throwaway0a5e]

You're not wrong. When there's high dollar figured involved rationality tends to prevail over ideological screeching.

But what he described is exactly how asbestos is handled in discourse in any other context. People absolutely lose their minds over it.