October 30, 2007
Unprecedented copper thefts have spurred a crackdown to stop the damage, as at least 16 states have passed or proposed new laws, and businesses have boosted security and offered bounties for information on the thieves.The crackdown comes as losses to businesses hover around $1 billion, the U.S. Department of Energy reports, and as escalating thefts have disrupted the flow of electricity, slowed construction projects and knocked out irrigation networks crucial to commercial farms.
Seizing on rising worldwide demand and surging value for the popular metal — up from 80 cents per pound in 2003 to about $3.50 this year — thieves sell stolen copper for millions of dollars in cash, state and federal authorities say.
"We're trying to do everything possible to fight this epidemic," says Adam Grant, spokesman at Nevada Power, where copper thefts have more than doubled since last year. "It's crazy."
My favorite law? One in Washington State that immunizes those from whom copper is being stolen from liability for injuries to the thieves. This puts me in mind of something that happened about 20 years ago. I recall there being a big market in vintage bricks, often taken from old, abandoned buildings. One guy in St. Louis was killed when a building collapsed while he was removing bricks from a wall. Seems he decided to start on the first floor and work his way upÂ…
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