TESTS on land earmarked for an extension to Pickering's cemetery, in Whitby Road, have found that any potential threat to drinking water resulting from burials would be "insignificant".
The town council brought in consultants to establish if there was any risk should the cemetery be extended.
That followed objections by the Environment Agency for change of us of the land, which is within the Keld Head public water supply source.
Consultants Carl Bro, of Leeds, said that while there was a potential risk of contamination of the public water supply as a result of leaching from buried corpses, a risk assessment showed that, because of the small size of the extension and the distance from the cemetery and the water supply, the risks were "insignificant".
The council will now seek planning permission from Ryedale District Council for the extension.
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