With reference to bio-toilets used by the Indian Railways, consider the following statements: 1. The decomposition of human waste in the bio-toilets is initiated by a fungal inoculum. 2. Ammonia and water vapour are the only end products in this decomposi

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Q: 43 (IAS/2015)
With reference to bio-toilets used by the Indian Railways, consider the following statements:
1. The decomposition of human waste in the bio-toilets is initiated by a fungal inoculum.
2. Ammonia and water vapour are the only end products in this decomposition which are released into the atmosphere.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

question_subject: 

Geography

question_exam: 

IAS

stats: 

0,68,193,87,34,72,68

keywords: 

{'human waste': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'ammonia': [0, 1, 0, 2], 'decomposition': [1, 0, 1, 9], 'only end products': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'atmosphere': [1, 1, 4, 7], 'fungal inoculum': [0, 0, 0, 1], 'water vapour': [0, 0, 1, 2]}

Neither statement 1 nor statement 2 is correct. The decomposition of human waste in the bio-toilets used by the Indian Railways is not initiated by a fungal inoculum, and ammonia and water vapor are not the only end products. The bio-toilets use a bacterial consortium to break down the waste, and the decomposition process produces multiple end products, including methane and carbon dioxide. Therefore, neither statement is correct.