title: Copper wire theft and high voltage electrical burns.
abstract: High voltage electrical burns are uncommon. However in the midst of our economic recession we are noticing an increasing number of these injuries. Copper wire is a valuable commodity with physical properties as an excellent conductor of electricity making it both ubiquitous in society and prized on the black market. We present two consecutive cases referred to the National Burns Unit who sustained life threatening injuries from the alleged theft of high voltage copper wire and its omnipresence on an international scale.
authors.affiliation: National Burns Unit, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, St James Hospital Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: Eamon C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.affiliation: National Burns Unit, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, St James Hospital Dublin 8, Ireland.
authors.forename: Odhran P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Shelley
keywords: Copper wire; burns; electrical; high voltage; theft