Sort of. As the saying goes: the dose makes the poison. The article itself presents a quote stating that the low level of lead exposure caused by TEL in gasoline was thought to be safe at the time.
They knew. They chose to do it anyway because it was the better deal for them. Couldn't care less about the people they harmed.
In my country, this is called criminal imprudence. If this isn't a crime in the US, it should be.
I think that that’s just an excuse, considering how we didn’t stop when we finally knew.