If New Zealand signed up to a ban on depleted uranium, it could scuttle any sale of the moth-balled Skyhawk jets.
Former British Royal Navy commander Robert Green, who emigrated to New Zealand in 1999, urged Parliament's foreign affairs, defence and trade select committee today to encourage the Government to ban using depleted uranium.
He said Belgium had taken a precautionary approach and he recommended New Zealand follow its lead until all the evidence was in.
There is conflicting research over whether exposure to small amounts of depleted uranium is risky or not. The element is sometimes used to increase the penetrating power of munitions and as ballast in planes because of the small space it takes. It has small levels of radioactivity associated with it.
National's Jacqui Dean asked what would happen to the Skyhawks if there was a ban.
The Skyhawks were decommissioned by the Labour Government in 2001 but a deal to sell them to an American company continues to be delayed by US Department of State procedures.
Group Captain Andrew Woods, commander of New Zealand Air Force logistics group, said the design of the Skyhawks required a substance heavier than lead that fitted into a small box and that was why depleted uranium was used.
If New Zealand agreed to a ban, the National Radiation Laboratory in Christchurch would dispose of any depleted uranium.
"The aircraft needs it to fly and so we would need to enter into discussions with any potential purchaser to determine what the impact that would have on a sale process."
Asked if it would make a sale difficult, he said it would.
The committee was told there had been no studies of the effect of depleted uranium on defence personnel.
Personnel sent to countries where it may be used undergo before and after urine tests to check if they have been exposed to it.
Troops in Afghanistan, for example, may have been exposed to depleted uranium particles but none had been hit by a fragment.
The Afghan government has said it would investigate whether the United States used depleted uranium during its invasion in 2001 and if it might be linked to malformed babies born afterwards.
Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae told the committee he was confident personnel did not face "an unreasonable risk".
Green MP Keith Locke asked if the defence force would be comfortable with a ban, if there was a clause which allows New Zealand to still work with other countries that used the material.
Gen Mateparae did not think overall it would be a significant problem.
