First it was blood diamonds. Now it's blood copper, driven partially by the demand for copper for telecommunications transmission. Two New Hampshire men were buried this week after they were electrocuted while taking copper wire from an unoccupied power plant in Tyngsboro, Mass.

The bodies were found lying alongside bolt cutters and coils of copper wire, according to law enforcement authorities, who said the men did not have permission to be on the property.

Their deaths followed the electrocution fatalities in Arkansas of two people attempting to strip copper wire from utility poles. The problem has gotten so out of hand that the Arkansas government has passed three bills that crack down on the theft of scrap metal.

The price of copper has rocketed in recent months, driven primarily by demand from China. Copper prices increased 14% in March to $3.16 a pound, the highest level since early December. China has acknowledged the human dangers of illegal copper acquisition. Chungcheng Fan, vice director at the China Institute of Communications told a crowd of communications experts in March that China would most likely use the Ethernet version of passive optical network technology, or EPON, in rural areas because "the problem of stealing copper wire is too great to further expand copper-based access."

Despite continued upgrades to fiber optic systems, copper is still in heavy use for telecom transmission. Verizon Communications, for instance, still uses it to bring telephone and DSL service to homes and business, even as it increases its use of fiber.