PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time in Oregon's state history, the Public Health Division is slapping a fine on a Portland tanning salon that investigators say left a customer to burn.

Loving's Salon in northeast Portland advertises 30-minute tans. However, for one customer, the session lasted much longer.

The state report says on Oct. 6 a customer fell asleep in a bed. The timer was supposed to go off after 30 minutes, but it did not. Instead, the customer's skin continued to burn – possibly for several hours.

People at the salon found her and called 9-1-1.

The result? A trip to the hospital by ambulance and "serious overexposure to UV light," according to state records. A spokesperson said the state investigation can't tell us exactly what happened to the customer "because of confidentiality."

The Public Health Division looked into the burn incident, and reported that Loving's Salon had four beds without the working timers required by law. Plus, the salon has no record of timer tests, used untrained operators, and more.

The state shut down that tanning bed and three others, and laid down its first-ever fine for a customer burn. It is recommending a fine of $7,500. The Public Health office has the green light to to levy fines when complaints come in: "When they get a complaint, they can investigate," said Oregon Attorney General's Office spokesperson Tony Green. "And that's what happened here."

However, this is not the first time Loving's Salon has broken safety laws. Records show violations dating back to the 1990s. There are violations in 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2008 and now, in 2009, we have someone injured so badly that they were rushed to the hospital.

Why does this salon get to continue when it has had so many violations? Green was asked by officials at the Public Health Division to speak on its behalf.

Green said that the many previous violations showed poor training and no timer checks, but did not involve broken timers nor injuries. Hence, the salon was warned and the beds stayed in operation.

We stopped in at the salon to speak to the owner, Sheila Loving. The manager there said Loving does not want to talk. The manager also said that Loving is getting out of the tanning business – starting New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, Loving's Salon is facing a possible $7,500 fine.

Here's the text from the 9-1-1 call that kicked off this unprecedented move by the state Public Health Division:

9-1-1 Dispatcher: "Okay, what’s going on there?"
 
Caller: "We have a girl that just, uh, uh ... We don’t know if she passed out or what but she just came out of the tanning bed and she’s on the floor and...."
 
Dispatcher: "Is she unconscious right now?"
 
Caller: "Um, she’s really out of it."
 
Dispatcher: "OK, but...."
 
Caller: "She was making a weird moaning noise."
 
Dispatcher: "So she’s semi-conscious, is that correct?"
 
Caller: "Yes, yes, as of right now she is ... She is breathing. She is kind of moving around, um, but she’s having a hard time.
 
We are told the $7,500 suggested fine is a new, aggressive approach by the state. The Public Health Division has given out about 20,000 tanning-bed citations in the past 20 years. However, it has not levied a fine for a burn – until now.


Related link:

• Oregon's tanning salon/bed regulations