I grind on 2% thoriated TIG welding electrodes all the time.
Nothing glows. I make it a point to not inhale the dust, but plenty of TIG welders all over the US are exposed to thorium every day. 2% Thoriated tungsten electrodes are, without doubt, the most common TIG welding electrode out there. Have been for years and years and years. Ain’t no one glowing.
I also work on old radios. The tungsten filaments in old vacuum tubes were thoriated as well. It improved electron emission from the cathode. Never had a problem there either.
My point is, thorium has been used for decades in industry, and in applications where it could even be aerosolized (eg, grinding TIG electrodes)- and yet we’re just not hearing much of any problems about it.
You have to exercise care with any heavy metal mining. Heck, even base metal mining can create a mess. We have long had the technology to do it properly.
BTW, regarding "problems from stuff" you hear about that over the long haul. It took a while but one day somebody woke up to the fact that smokers who mined uranium were all dying off pretty quick.
People who mined uranium and didn't smoke didn't have that problem. Smokers who didn't mine had a problem but not that bad.
Sometimes two minor problems can combine to create a really unhealthy situation.