Japanese media report the government has decided to consider volcanoes, in addition to earthquakes and tsunamis, when designing safety standards for nuclear power plants.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a meeting of experts on Thursday and suggested guidelines that if there is an active volcano within 160 kilometers of a nuclear power plant, measures should be put in place to cope with volcanic ash and gas.

In addition, the guidelines say that if a volcano has the potential to spew lava, a new nuclear power plant cannot be established in the area and existing ones should be shut down.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that it will come up with the final guidelines by July. This is the first time Japan has suggested safety guidelines regarding volcanoes.