The good news is your exposure is somewhat limited in that your leases are coming up.What is your plan when the leases come up?

Even a "bad" construction job is getting you exposure to something in home building or rehab.  

Build relationships with active investors in your area and partner on 5 to 10 deals so you can learn and still make a small cut of the profits while limiting your exposure. 

My question is...What job would give me the most/best exposure to real estate development so i can educate myself while earning a living?

By knowing the economic health of the states we invest in, we can mitigate our exposure when the market tanks the next time.

Does anyone know of a way to avoid this exposure? 

I would be that about half of the homes in Indianapolis are pre-1978 and I don't believe that we have a huge problem with lead related health problems.I am not as familiar with asbestos, but I believe that you need fairly direct exposure to asbestos for it to be a problem.

Then there's the issue of exposure of one tenant to another. 

It sounds like you are looking for a career and you need to have an education and then a position in an associated aspect that provides you exposure to development.

One of the reasons that people enter into LLCs is to limit their exposure, downside, etc.