"Dottie" wrote

Most popcorn ceilings do not contain asbestos ... popcorn ceilings
have the large size pebbles. The old asbestos type was much smaller.
We had that in a house we owned that was built in 1962. Anyway, it
was safe to remove it as long as it had been painted. The paint kept
it from flying around much.

I would say less than one in a thousand poses an asbestos threat. As long
as you wet it, the fibers can't float around like dust, which is the
hazardous condition. Best to be a little messy than having it float around.
It's like fiberglass insulation. When the sun shines through the cloud you
create by disturbing it, you can see what looks like short pieces of tiny
hair.

HTH

Steve