[en] The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IPSN) of the Commissariat a l'energie atomique (CEA) has set up testing centres for equipment connected with the safety of facilities and staff protection. These centres, established in order to co-ordinate the resources of the CEA and of its subsidiaries, particularly in relation to testing, are responsible, each within its own field of activity, for the following main tasks: (1) approval of equipment, calculation techniques and processes; (2) participation in national and international standardization work; (3) specialized training activities; (4) centralization and dissemination of available information. So far, three centres have been set up and are playing an important role in radiation protection and nuclear safety through their work in relation to: (1) the quality of equipment and materials, calculation techniques and processes, ensuring in particular that products are adequate to meet the needs expressed; (2) operational quality, through participation in staff training and by ensuring that the feedback of experience is taken into account; (3) the quality of the actions undertaken in accident and post-accident situations. (author). 1 fig