DID YOU KNOW

While a lot of people think of pennies being pure copper, they are actually mostly made of zinc with a copper-plated surface. Only 1/40th of a penny is made of copper, according to the United States Mint. Nickels, dimes and quarters, however, all have a large copper core and a thin nickel shell.

Copper prices are on the rise again, and as a result, so is copper theft. Windham Police Chief Rick Lewsen said there have been five reported burglaries in Windham since May.

The New York Mercantile Exchange, the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange, listed the price of copper at $3.61 cents a pound this week. The metal is used in circuit boards, doorknobs, roofing, water pipes and electrical wires.

On Monday, July 9, some electrical wires were found to be missing from a power station near the Gambo Dam. The stolen wires were once attached to a transformer and Lewsen said the thief or thieves caused $16,000 worth of damage.

“Copper thieves targeting electrical substations are getting killed, and the ones that survive are very lucky,” said Central Maine Power spokeswoman Gail Rice. A 22-year-old Ohio man was electrocuted this Monday while trying to pilfer a live power line, the latest in a national trend of copper thieves getting killed by live wires.

Rice said the power outages these thefts can cause can harm people who rely on life-saving equipment like oxygen tanks.

“It is very, very dangerous for people to be doing this,” she said.

Al Mack, manager at the Louis Mack scrap metal company in Portland, said his company notes the license plate or drivers license number of metal sellers. He said they receive copper in many different forms.

“We get a lot of plumbing pipes, and a lot of electricians bring in electrical wire,” he said. “It’s a little of everything.”

Mack said the increase in the price is copper is due to a high demand for the element, especially from China.

He said his company reacts to suspicious copper sellers on an individual basis.

“Sometimes the police are notified, sometimes we won’t buy it, it’s hard to tell,” he said.

Other copper purchasers weren’t as forthcoming.

“We take positive identification and that’s all I can tell you,” said an employee for E. Perry Iron & Metal Co., Inc. in Portland who wished to remain anonymous.