No one escaped it. Tetraethyl lead vaporizes so it's not making dust. You breathed the vapor directly into your lungs. Lead is all over the environment so it gets in all of our food one way or another. Clay soils often contain significant levels of lead, hence the warning about unglazed pottery and such. As with all toxic substances, it's quantity over time that matters so if you're not showing signs of acute heavy metal poisoning, then your body dealt with it to a level where you're not in danger. Life is dangerous but that's just the way it is.

He's right. It is the vapor. Beans absorb it incredibly. If you drink coffee source it from places you can find on a map, places in rural areas outside of urban centers. It won't eliminate it completely but will cut down on the amounts. Humid island nations or rural areas just outside of dense cities are the worst.