Is asbestos dust dangerous?

Yes. Asbestos dust is highly dangerous. There is still a great deal of asbestos in place in older buildings. Stripping it out is high risk. Breathing air containing asbestos dust can lead to potentially fatal asbestos-related diseases, mainly cancers of the chest and lungs. Asbestos-related diseases kill more people than any other single work-related cause:

• Asbestos related diseases (mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer) are thought to kill at least 3,000 people a year, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This figure expected to rise to 10,000 by 2011. Workers dying during this period will have already inhaled a fatal dose of asbestos fibres.
• Other workers may suffer from less serious lung conditions.

Despite the scientific evidence, claims are made in some quarters that asbestos is "not really a risk to health". These arguments are comprehensively tackled in an informative booklet from the GMB general union, White asbestos: it's still a killer.