in the drawings the structural distinctiveness of the present invention over the prior art is illustrated with fig1 and 2 wherewith the present respirator cartridge 10 fig1 when compared with prior art cartridge 10a fig2 can be seen to embody less components and an unusual prefilter design with respect to the former the present arrangement and design of prefilter components 12 14 16 and final filter 18 permits elimination of the prior art fine mesh screen 20 fig2 and substitution of less expensive and lighter weight glass fiber material for one of the heretofor dual wool felt filters 18a fig2 in connection with the present prefilter design its domed triple component array provides for greater than usual distribution of aerosol loading and a correspondingly lower resistance to inhalation i e airflow cartridge 10 fig1 comprises the usual shell 22 of stamped drawn or otherwise formed sheet metal e g aluminum with cover 24 crimped in place after the positioning of filters 14 16 and 18 in shell 22 bottom 26 of shell 22 and top 28 of cover 24 are perforated to permit inhalation of air in the direction of arrows 30 through cartridge 10 the threaded portion 32 of shell 22 is used to conventionally secure cartridge 10 in a respirator face mask not shown so that top 28 of cover 24 is exposed to the particular environment against which respiratory protection is sought e.