We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.
