The roots of bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants growing in nutrient solution were exposed to [side ring‐U‐14C]anthracene (0.01 mg L−1 solution) during flowering and seed production. At harvest, 60% of the total 14C dose was in the roots, 3% in the stems, 3% in the leaves, 0.1% in the pods, 17% in the nutrient solution and 16% unaccounted for. More than 90% of the anthracene (75 mg/plant) was metabolized over the 30‐d exposure period. The results suggest that most of the metabolism occurred in the plant tissues. At harvest, 8.7% of the anthracene dose was found (unmetabolized) in the roots, 1.5% in the nutrient solution, 0.53% in the stems and 0.03% in the leaves. Quantities of the parent compound were too small to detect in the pods and seeds. The remainder of the [14C]anthracene taken up by the plants was metabolized to polar metabolites (29%) and nonpolar metabolites (18%) or structurally incorporated into compounds that were not extracted (44%).