im planning on buying a front set of these pads for 17 bucks from pepboys but im concerned about asbestos dust being formed from these pads. i heard raysbestos was known as a major contributor of asbestos sickening in the past.

Since the discovery that asbestos is carcinigenic it's use in Brake Pads has been practically outlawed. This is because it's dangerous specifically in the form of powder, which is the result of hitting the brakes.

I nosed around specifically about Raybestos, and from what I've found it seems unlikely that they have any asbestos in them

Whats the difference between organic brake pads and ceramic brake pads?