A probabilistic description of radioactive contamination

A discrete probability model is used to aid in the description of gamma-ray spectroscopic data obtained from a radioactively contaminated territory. The approach gives a natural probability for distinguishing contaminated regions and is useful for describing spatial vector valued discrete random fields. Using the simplest variant of this model, a part of the territory adjoining the former Semipalatinskʹs nuclear test site in Kazakhstan has been investigated. Probabilities of exceeding the safety limits for 137Cs and integral gamma-radiation have been estimated.