[whatisthiseven]

Then you don't know anything about the man. He intentionally inhaled large quantities of leaded gas to prove it was safe to on lockers.

He would then spend months in Florida recovering from lead poisoning.

He knew, and he didn't care.

[cyberax]

Yeah, that kinda reinforces it. He knew about the acute effects, but not about cumulative damage.

I don't think that cumulative toxicity started entering the public mindset until well into the middle of the century.

[mmooss]

He's not 'the public' but a highly educated and experienced leading expert in the subject. You have no idea what he knew (afaict) and even if the chronic problems were indeed unknown to him, anyone, even a member of 'the public', could infer that the acute problems certainly risked long-term problems