ST. LOUIS (AP) - A Washington University survey of Missouri tanning salons has found that nearly two-thirds allow children as young as 10 or 12 to tan, and many provide misinformation about the dangers of tanning beds.

Dermatologists at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis led the telephone survey in 2007. Results were published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Questioners posed as prospective clients. Operators at 65 percent of the salons said they would allow 10- or 12-year-olds to tan. Employees at 43 percent said there was no risk posed by indoor tanning.

American Suntanning Association executive director Tracie Cunningham questioned the survey methods and said many of the businesses in the six-year-old survey are no longer operating.

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