Soapstone, aka steatite, comes in various grades of hardness.  The harder varieties are used for countertops and sinks while the softer are often used for carving and sculpture.  I wouldn't worry too much about asbestos contamination in anything sold commercially, OSHA, the FTC, and various other agencies would have bad things to say about anything with dangerous levels of asbestos in them.  On the other hand, if you are harvesting and preparing "wild" soapstone from an outcrop I would be very cautious unless you had an assay/analysis done.  There is a fair amount of soapstone out there but only a few deposits which are asbestos free enough to be commercially viable.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

11 hours ago, Frosty said:

Good grief, I thought I sent this yesterday. At least it was still here so I don't have to rewrite it.

Small mercies!

And of course be wary of 80 year old countertops, lab benchtops and sinks.