An environmental health expert has begun studying air and noise pollution at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

The data will help the county decide what types of aircraft should be allowed at the airport and help determine future operations there.

The types of planes allowed at PDK, and complaints about pollution, have been long-standing issues for residents who live around the airport, the second-busiest in Georgia.

Barry Ryan, a professor of environmental health at Emory University, began work on the study in late February. Work is expected to be completed in early 2014.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com