Long-term prediction of radiation induced losses in single mode optical fibers exposed to gamma rays using a pragmatic approach

We have developed an industry-aimed pragmatic method based on a known model for the prediction of radiation induced losses in single mode optical fibers exposed to /sup 60/Co gamma rays. When environmental and measurement conditions are well defined, long-term losses could be predicted with a precision of about 15%, provided a sufficiently large data-set is available. From an interpretation of these results, we discuss its applicability and potential further improvements.