Yep, it's the friable asbestos fibers in the air that creates the health hazard in this situation. If it's not flaking falling apart, encapsulating it in place with paint is usually good enough to keep the fiber count in the air way down, and you can just live with it. Ripping it out will usually increase the amount of free fiber in the air, so it's usually done in haz-mat suits and wetting it down, screened off from other areas. with poly sheeting w/air filters inside the poly tent. The goods get bagged, then surfaces get wiped, then the surfaces & sometimes air is sampled sometime later to verify the levels. Obviously not a DIY job.
About 30 years ago I pointed out to a relative that the steam boiler in his rental house was covered in flaking asbestos, and that it wasn't a good idea to let his kids play in the basement. He notified the landlord, who subsequently hired an undocumented guy from the Caribbean to strip the boiler down to the cast iron. That left the place hopelessly contaminated, with everything in the basement heavily coated in asbestos dust, at which point I advised that they just move out and notify the city/state. (I'm not sure how that was resolved on the legal end between the city/state & landlord.)