firstmorning

Hi, I would appreciate any kind of advice or insight on the following matter.

Today, I attempted to clean a few oil paintings that I have (I think they’re oil, not 100% sure). Immediately, after doing this, it occurred to me that oil paintings might have toxic lead in them. Sure enough, my internet research reveals that white and yellow pigments in oil paints have high contents of lead, and one painting has a lot of yellow. Yikes! Now I am concerned that I may have disturbed the paint and released toxic lead. I am concerned that toxic lead could have been / could be released in 2 ways:

1. I stupidly ran a vacuum attachment over the painting’s surface, albeit gently, though my vacuum is pretty strong. There is one chipped area in one painting, about ¼”, which may or may not have been caused by me. I do not see any other damage to the paintings other than general fraying at the edges of the painting, and a tear in the canvas in one corner. If a painting does not appear damaged, can one safely assume that the painting is “safe” to touch (in terms of human safety).

2. I then took a slightly damp paper towel and wiped off the painting with the yellow colors in it. Some dirt-colored or brownish yellow stuff got onto the papertowel. This could either be dirt and dust, or the actual paint, I don’t know. (the painting consists of mostly yellow/beige colors). By dampening the painting, did I initiate some sort of chemical break-down process in which the lead in the paint will be released, if not immediately, then later?

Hopefully, oil paintings are durable and do not fall apart / breakdown in the manner I have described above. I worry that I may have ingested some paint dust in the process of vacuuming, and that this will travel into my breastmilk (I have a baby). And then I worry that if the painting is breaking down chemically, toxic lead is continually being released, and that any contact with the painting now or in the future is of concern (again, because I have a child).

Any insights / solutions would be most appreciated.