Sir – Twice now have I challenged Oxfordshire county councillors, through your letters page, to indicate whether they consider waste incineration poses health and environmental risks.

Others have done so in the public forum of your comments online facility. We know that at least two of their number read The Oxford Times because of the attack mounted on your publication by councillors Mitchell and Belson (Letters, January 22).

Despite these challenges we are deafened by councillors’ silence. Are we to assume in this case that silence is assent, that Oxfordshire county councillors, with a few exceptions who have made their views clear elsewhere, do believe that incinerators are indeed safe?

Or are we to assume that silence means they have their doubts, in which case, why are there to be no independent health and environmental assessments of the incinerator proposals?

Oh, by the way, councillors Mitchell and Belson, a clue to the role of the EA and HPA is in their status quangos — Quasi Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisations and you seem to misunderstand their role. Rather than carry out parallel independent technical assessments, they merely review and comment on the studies submitted by the applicant. They are of the Government, but not in it.

For the sake of openness, promised consultation and respect for your electors, let’s have your views on safety without any more delay.

Dr Pauline Amos-Wilson, Sutton Courtenay