newbie question: Can memory leak extend beyond application lifetime?

FROM : Graham
DATE : Sat Jun 10 22:46:11 2006

It appears that my app is using memory that is not restored even 
after the application closes.
[According to my iStat Pro widget the inactive memory count increases 
slightly after each time I run my app]
Is this possible? If so, is it just caused by unreleased objects or 
is something else to blame?

Thanks

Graham