One of the concerns for seawater desalination technologies is the brine discharges with concentrate and chemicals that may pose adverse effects on the nearby marine environment.In this study,the presences of heavy metals of concern in the discharges,sediment,and biological samples were monitored quarterly for four consecutive seasons to investigate the impacts of the discharges of two seawater desalination plants using membrane-based reverse osmosis (RO) in Taiwan on the receiving marine environment.The concentrations of selected heavy metals in the sediment samples were relatively higher than the typical background concentrations,indicating a possible anthropogenic effect for these elements.More importantly,with the concentrations in the discharges below the critical levels,strong as well as increasing positive correlations were observed among the levels of heavy metals in the discharges,sediments,and bivalve samples through the seasons,indicating possible impacts of the brine discharges on the receiving marine environment.While the discharge from RO desalination is typically considered less environmentally detrimental due to the presence of low concentrations of contaminants,the findings suggested that low levels of heavy metals in the brine discharge may still be transported and accumulated,leading to elevated concentrations in various matrices of the receiving marine environment.The following long-term monitoring was recommended for providing additional information to verify the environmental impacts of the brine discharges from seawater desalination using RO on the environment and ecosystem.