Statistical Terms Glossary

A pest is a species, viruses, bacteria and other micro—organisms considered harmful to the health of human beings, crops and other living organisms

A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances that is used to prevent, destroy or control pests — including vectors of human or animal disease, and unwanted species of plants or animals. Pesticides may cause harm during, or otherwise interfere with, the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs — or that may be administered to animals so as to control insects, arachnids or other pests in or on their bodies

Materials intended to mitigate, control or eliminate pests in plants or animals, or to control the behaviour or physiology of pests or crops during production or storage.

Participation certificates which represent rights to a specific quantity of oil. Used primarily in Mexico.

Petroleum coke is defined as a black solid residue, obtained mainly by cracking and carbonising of petroleum derived feedstocks, vacuum bottoms, tar and pitches in processes such as delayed coking or fluid coking. It consists mainly of carbon (90 to 95 per cent) and has a low ash content.
It is used as a feedstock in coke ovens for the steel industry, for heating purposes, for electrode manufacture and for production of chemicals.

Petroleum products are any oil-based products which can be obtained by distillation and are normally used outside the refining industry. The exceptions to this are those finished products which are classified to refinery feedstocks.

Petroleum, crude petroleum comprises:
- petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous materials, other than crude; preparations n.e.c. containing by weight 70 per cent or more of these oils, such oils being the basic constituents of the preparations (Central Product Classification (CPC) Group 333).;
- petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude (CPC Class 1201)

This includes pharmaceutical products, drugs and chemicals, which have been returned from wards, have been spilled or soiled, are out of date or contaminated, or are to be discarded for any reason.

Persons with scientific degree in pharmacology.

A situation when an individual is allowed to retire and receive retirement benefits while continuing to work (usually part-time) and contributing towards the retirement scheme.

See fade-out agreement.

In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users,[2] and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies.[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

Photochemical air pollution is pollution caused by the reaction of unsaturated and saturated hydrocarbons, aromatics and aldehydes (emitted owing to the incomplete combustion of fuels) with light. It causes eye irritation

See Photochemical air pollution and Smog

Photosynthesis is a chemical process carried on by green plants through which light energy is used to produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water, and oxygen is released as a by—product

Producing a voltage when exposed to radiant energy (especially light).

Physical acts of abusive behaviour and/or threats of abuse such as: pushing, grabbing, shoving, hair-pulling, hitting, slapping, beating up, kicking, burning, choking, using a weapon, or threats of the above.

Physical accounting refers to the natural resource and environmental accounting of stocks and changes in stocks in physical (non—monetary) units, for example, weight, area or number. Qualitative measures, expressed in terms of quality classes, types of uses or ecosystem characteristics, may supplement quantitative measures. The combined changes in asset quality and quantity are called volume changes

Accounts expressed in physical units. They may employ any linear, volumetric, area or mass units used in the International system of Units (for example metres, litres, hectares, kilograms).

The freedom to make decisions regarding sexuality, reproduction and the right to live a life free from violence.

The stock of value inherent in the quantity and quality of machinery, manufactured goods and finance.

Physical deterioration is the loss in the physical efficiency of an asset as it ages. Efficiency in this context refers to the asset's ability to produce a quantity of capital services for a given amount of inputs. It is a synonym for “wear and tear” or “ decay”.

The physical flow accounts presented in [SEEA] are based around the distinction between natural resources, ecosystem inputs, products and residuals. Natural resources and ecosystem inputs enter the economy; residuals eventually leave it. Economic activity itself is concerned with the production and consumption of goods and services (products). All natural resources and ecosystem inputs absorbed by the economy are converted into products by one means or another. All physical products eventually return to the environment as residuals. It is the process in between, when products circulate within the economy which is of interest for economic accounting since this is the point in the cycle when monetary values can be associated with the flows.

A symmetric table that shows physical flows (for all materials or a subset of materials) from the environment or rest of the world to the economy, within the economy and from the economy to the rest of the world.

Physical pollution is pollution caused by colour (change), suspended solids, foaming, temperature conditions or radioactivity